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EDITOR'S  PREFACE 


THE  STORY  OF  DANSVILLE,  past  and  present,  pro- 
fusely illustrated,  is  told  in  the  many  pages  that  follow. 
How  well  it  is  told  is  for  the  public  to  judge.  How  much 
of  time  and  toil  and  conscientious  care  has  been  put  into 
it,  the  public  may  never  appreciate.  So  far  as  the  past 
of  Dansville  is  concerned,  the  work  undertaken  a  quarter 
of  a  century  or  more  ago  would  have  been  infinitely  easier 
of  accomplishment..  The  absence  of  contemporaneous  in- 
formation at  this  time  is  absolute.  During  the  vital 
period  mentioned  the  successors  of  the  first  pioneers  have 
been  gathered  to  their  fathers.  The  lips  that  repeated  their  vivid 
recollections  have  been  stilled.  In  large  measure  their  written  records 
have  been  scattered  or  destroyed.  In  the  material  secured  through 
the  kind  assistance  of  citizens  there  was  the  ever  present  puzzle  of 
deciding  what  was  correct  and  desirable  as  well  as  legitimate  matter 
for  the  History,  and  which  were  negligible  facts.  The  decisions  have 
been  made  without  prejudice  or  partiality,  and  the  work  has  been 
conscientiously  completed.  In  the  doing  of  it  the  History  has  grown 
to  nearly  double  the  volume  at  first  contemplated  and  promised,  and 
the  orderly  arrangement  of  chapters  and  subjects  has  been  interfered 
with  by  the  fact  that  the  printing  proceeded  simultaneously  with  re- 
search and  writing.  Its  more  than  five  hundred  pages  and  more  than 
three  hundred  and  fifty  illustrations,  in  handsome  typographical  dress, 
tell  for  themselves  of  the  faithfulness  of  editor,  compiler,  publishers 
and  printer. 

In  my  researches  for  reminiscences  of  the  earliest  white  pioneers, 
the  haunting  thought  was  ever  with  me  that  I  ought  to  say  a  word  in 
behalf  of  the  earlier  settlers  of  this  region,  the  red  men  whom  the 
pale  faces  dispossessed,  whose  noble  history  no  dusky  pen  has  ever 
traced,  whose  name  and  fame  have  ever  been  at  the  mercy  of  their 
conquerors.  I  gratefully  recalled  the  thoughtful  declaration  of  George 
William  Curtis  that  "New  York  is  a  palimpsest.  Its  great  empire  of 
today  is  written  over  the  great  empire  of  the  five  Indian  nations.  *  * 
Like  the  heroes  before  Agamemnon,  the  Indians  had  no  poet  to  sing 
their  story.  But  it  lives  in  fragmentary  legend."  In  fragmentary 
legend  only  it  lives  in  the  beautiful  hill-encircled  Valley  in  which 
Dansville  has  grown  from  a  wilderness  into  a  high  state  of  civilization. 
All  this  valley  is  an  integral  part  of  the  grand  Empire  state  itself, 
than  which  the  history  of  no  state  is  more  inspiring,  said  Curtis, 
through  which  the  power  of  the  Indian  confederacy  swept  as  resist- 
lessly  as  the  rivers  themselves,  until  it  was  supreme  from  Canada  to 


2  PREFACE 

the  Carolinas,  from  the  ocean  to  the  Mississippi.       This  valley  and 
Dansville  are  indissolubly  joined  in  history  as  in  tradition,  to  a  race 

"Of  men 
Whose  deeds  have  linked  wi;th  every  glen 
And  every  hill  and  every  stream 
The  romance  of  some  warrior's  dream." 

The  imperial  tradition  of  the  Iroquois  fills   the   place   with   romantic 
interest  before  our  annals  begin. 

And  is  the  history  of  the  white  man  here,  which  I  have  essayed  to 
portray,  less  noble  than  that  of  the  "Romans  of  the  West?"  It  may 
not  clearly  appear  upon  the  face  of  the  History  herein  written,  but  for 
those  who  read  between  the  lines  there  will  be  resurrected  from  its 
pages  many  noble  men  and  women  who  wrested  homes  from  a  wilder- 
ness of  savage  beasts  and  more  savage  men,  often  at  the  peril  and  cost 
of  their  own  lives,  that  others  might  live  and  prosper.  There  will  be 
recalled  lives  illustrating  and  illuminating  the  highest  practice  of  the 
principles  of  Christian  civilization,  under  whose  influence  the  Dans- 
ville of  the  white  man  is  as  far  beyond  the  village  of  the  Ganosgagos 
as  civilization  is  in  advance  of  barbarism  and  Christianity  above 
paganism. 

I  cannot  deny  and  I  would  not  conceal  the  fact  that  Dansville  has 
had  its  seamy  side  throughout  its  more  than  a  century  of  life.  In  the 
quest  for  historical  material  there  have  been  unearthed  many  trage- 
dies and  sorrows  under  the  shadowy  power  of  wrong,  and  many  mis- 
fortunes; but  I  confidently  affirm  that  from  the  gusty  days  of  the 
early  canal  period,  when  a  grasping  commercial  spirit  seemed  to  pre- 
dominate and  recklessness  kept  pace  with  it,  until  the  steadier  pe- 
riod of  the  present  when  our  churches  and  our  schools  are  better  than 
our  warehouses,  the  advance  has  been  upward  and  onward  to  ever 
higher  levels  of  thought  and  action.  From  our  humble  homes  have 
gone  out  into  the  great  world  men  and  women  who  have  become 
famous  in  the  ministry,  in  school,  in  literature,  in  art  and  science, 
in  law  and  in  business,  and  never  before  as  today  has  there  been  such 
opportunity  in  Dansville  for  the  higher  education  of  its  young  men 
and  women. 

That  this  History  of  Dansville,  modestly  submitted,  may  convince 
its  citizens  that  there  is  much  reason  for  pride  in  the  past  and  pres- 
ent of  this  village,  and  the  brightest  of  hopes  for  the  future,  in  the 
steady  growth  toward  the  solidarity  which  promises  complete  unity 
of  interests  and  ambitions,  is  the  fondest  hope  of  one  who  has  grown 
to  love  and  to  believe  in  Dansville  more  and  more  during  all  the  years 
of  half  a  century. 

THE  EDITOR. 


CONTENTS 

PART  1. 

DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST— By  ^.  O  Bunnell. 

CHAPTER  I.— EARLY  CONDITIONS 

Geological  Speculations — First  Views — Indian  Burying  Ground — The  Ganos- 
gago  Indians — Relics  of  an  Indian  Fort — Mary  Jemison  and  Queen 
Esther — Red  Jacket  and  Cornplanter — The  Sullivan  Expedition — Tragic 
Fate    01    Boyd's    Party — Erection  of    Monument  in  1901 — Land  Titles — 

Pages  17-27. 

CHAPTER  II.— FIRST  SETTLERS 

First  Families  Came  in  June,  1795 — James  McCurdy's  Reminiscences — The 
First  Marriage — Daniel  P.  Faulkner's  Enterprise — William  Ferine — 
Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester — Dr.  James  Faulkner's  Reminiscences — Indian 
Festivities — Local  Diseases — Sandy  Hill — The  Brails,  Lemens  and 
Stones Pages  28-39. 

CHAPTER  III.— LATER  EARLY  DAYS 

In  1812 — Transferred  from  Steuben  to  Livingston  County  in  1821 — Water  Power 

Attraction — The  Canal  Period — Factories  and   Mills — ^Business  in  1830 — 

First  Schools — Noted   Visitors — Martin    VanBuren    and    Prince    John — 

War  and  Politics — Efforts  for  County  Seat .Pages  40-45. 

CHAPTER  IV.— THIRD  QUARTER  OF  CENTURY 

From  Canal  to  Railroad — Wayland,  the  Nearest   Station — Dansville  Seminary 

— Protection  Against  Fire — Business  Men   of  1850 — The    Civil    War  and 

Dansville's  Prompt  Response — Later  War  Meetings  and  Bounties  Paid — ■ 

The  Draft — The  Hyland  House  and  Maxwell  Block Pages   46-52. 

CHAPTER  v.— THE  LAST  QUARTER  OF  THE  CENTURY 
The  Bank  Failures — Followed  by  Improved  Conditions — Dansville's  Celebra- 
tion of  the  Nation's  Centennial — A  Circulating  Library — Floods  and 
Storms — Winged  Ants — From  District  School  to  Union  School  and  a  Fine 
New  Building — The  Village  Improvement  Society  and  Its  Important 
Work Pages  53-65. 

CHAPTER  VI.— CANALS  AND  RAILROADS 
Sub-Branch  of   the  Canal — Exciting  Conflict  Between  Village  and    State    Em- 
ployees— Dansville's  Prosperous  Period — Railroads  Turn  the  Tide — Rail- 
road Project  in  1832 — A  Wait  of  Forty  Years — Dansville's  First  Railroad 
in  1872 — The  Second  in  1882 Pages  66-71 

CHAPTER  VII.— NOTABLE  MEN  OF  EARLY  TIMES 
Moses  VanCampen — Red  Jacket — Charles  Williamson — Nathaniel  Rochester — 
Pages  72-79. 

CHAPTER  VIII.— RECOLLECTIONS  OF  LIVING  OLD  CITIZENS 

Elihu  Stanley,  Ninety-Three  Years  Old — Mrs.  Catherine  Harrison,  Ninety — 
Mrs.  Jane  Shafer,  Eighty-Nine — David  McNair,  Eighty-Three — Dr.  A. 
L,  Gilbert,  Seventy-Eight — B.  S.  Stone,  Seventy-Seven — Mrs.  Kather- 
ine  Rochester  Shepard — Mrs.  Timothy  B.  Grant — Mrs.  Anna  Clark 
Adams Pages  80-88. 


4  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX.— SOME  EXCITING  AND  INTERESTING  EVENTS 

Bursting  of  Water  From  East  Hill — The  Devil's  Hole — Eclipse  of  the  Sun — 
Dansville  Volunteers  Descend  upon  Canada — Rain  and  Cloudburst  in 
1813 — Wierd  Stories  of  1842 — The  Wood  Poisoning — Shooting  of  John 
Haas — Remains  of  a  Mastodon  Found — Three    Most  Destructive  Fires — 

Other  Fires — Burning  of  "Our  Home" Pages  89-96. 

CHAPTER  X.— CERTAIN  INSTITUTIONS 

The  Jackson  Sanatorium — Coterie — The  Library — First  Red  Cross  Society — 
Canaseraga  Light  Infantry — The  Normal  Instructor — The  Dansville  Cem- 
etery Association Pages  97-101. 

CHAPTER  XI.— SOME  NAMES  AND  EVENTS 

Village  Postmasters — Presidents — Clerks — Supervisors — Churches  Organized 
— -Early  Merchants — Old  Residents  in  1875 — Reunion  Veteran  Canaseragas 
— Old    Fashioned    Base   Ball    Game — Handsome    Men   of    1877 — A    Few 

'  •  Firsts' ' Pages  102-106. 

CHAPTER  XII.— ANCIENT  DOCUMENTS 

A  Presbyterian  Petition  of  1809 — Navigation  of  Canaseraga  River,  1811 — 
Church  Subscriptions,  1811 — Dansville  Polemic  Society,  1811 — District 
Tax  Roll,  1830 — Dansville  Academy  Examinations,  1837 — Moses  Van- 
Campen  Circular,  1844 — School  Exercises,  18S4 — School  Program,  1859 — 
Pages  107-115. 

CHAPTER  XIII.— THE  DOTY  ROMANCE 
TOLD    BY    DR.     A.     L.     GILBERT 

Lockwood  L.  Doty  as  a  Boy  in  Dansville — Arrested  for  Robbing  the  Mail — 
Taken  to  Rochester   on    Packet    Boat — Exciting    Experience — Innocence 

Established — Triumphant  Return — Subsequent  Life Pages  117  120. 

CHAPTER  XIV.— SOME  DETACHED  FACTS 

The  Iroquois  League — A  Fenian  Meeting — ^Canal  Celebration — Bishop  Mc- 
Quaid's  First  Visit — Reception  to  Clara  Barton — Board  of  Trade — Se- 
vere Frost — A  Hurricane — Twenty-Fifth  Anniversary  of  Union  Hose 
Company — Dansville  Library — Coterie — McKinley  Memorial  Meeting, 
etc Pages  121-129. 

CHAPTER  XV.— LATER  CONTRIBUTIONS 

A  Few  Wood  Notes,  by  Theodore  M.  Schlick — East  Hill — Bradner's  Woods — 

The  Isolated  Chestnut  Tree — ^Native  Birds — Killing    of    the    Last    Wild 

Deer    in   Dansville,  by   Charles    C.     Sedgwick — Early    Recollections,  by 

Mrs.  L.  Aldrich  Collins Pages  130-134. 

CHAPTER  XVI.— THE  WATER  WORKS 
BY    E.     A.     SPRAGUE,     SDPT. 

Hard  Fights — First  Board  of  Water  Commissioners — Detailed  Reports — -First 

Tap  by  Blum  Shoe  Co Pages  135-144. 

CHAPTER  XVII.— OTHER  DETACHED  FACTS 

Dansville  Union- — Soldiers'  Monument  Dedication — Tender  of  Co.  L.  to 
State — Local  Shinplasters — Dr.  Jackson's  Memorial — Dansville  Spirit- 
ualists— In  1846^ — Hilarious  Annexation    Dinner — ^Chair    Factory- — Loan 

Association — I.  O.  G.  T. — First  Driven  Well Pages  145-150. 

CHAPTER  XVIII.— A  SUMMING  UP 

Head  of  the  Genesee  Valley — Geology — The  Hill  and  Valley — Fertility  of 
the  Soil — Glens — Our  Home  on  the  Hillside — Coterie — The  Library 
— Musical  and  Dramatic — Outdoor  Recreations  —  Public  Spirit — - 
Pages  151-155. 


BIOGRAPHIES 


Andrews,  Dr.  B.  P 217 

Austin,   Harriet  N 210 

Baker,  James  H 200 

Beecher,  Walter  Julius 238 

Bragdon,  Geo.  C 231 

Bunnell,  A.  O 12 

Burgess,    Joseph  W 198 

Cogswell,  The  Family 165 

Crisfield,  Dr.  James  E 232 

DeLong,  H.  W 191 

Denton,  Chas.   W 230 

Driesbach,  Dr.    F.  R 212 

Dyer,  The  Family 225 

Foss,  Bertrand   G 211 

Fowler,  Miller  H 221 

Geiger,   Peter 215 

Gorham,  Newton   B 246 

Gregory,  Walter  E 223 

Hubbard,  Henry  E 196 

Hyland,  The  Family 160 

Jacksnn,    James  Caleb 176 

Jackson,  Lucretia   Edgerton 207 

Jackson,   Giles   Elderken 205 

Jackson  James   H 159 

Jackson,  Katherine  J 208 

Jackson,  James  Arthur 206 

Johnson  Emerson 204 

Kramer,   William 169 

Morey,  Jonathan  B 189 

Noyes,  Daniel  W. 183 

Noyes,  Frederick  W 184 

Oberdorf,   Bernard  H 202 

Oberdorf,  W.    S 242 

Owen,  F.    A 235 

Ferine,  The  Family 167 

Pratt,  Robert 246 

Readshaw,  B.   F 229 

Rowe,  Charles  H 218 

Shepard,  Charles 172 

Shepard,  Charles  E.  &  Thos.  R.  .  .  176 

Spinning,  Wm.    T 185 

Stanley,  Elihu   L 165 

Snyder,  Chas.  F 244 

VanValkenburg,    A.  L 197 

Veith,  Chas.    C 228 

Williams,  J.  C 203 

Wooodruff,  Oscar 193 

ALLUSIONS 

Austin,  Dr.  Harriet  N 249 

Babcock,  John  F 257 

Bagley,   Benedict 268 

Betts,    John 262 

Bissell,  Chas.  J 255 

Bradner,  Lester 255 


Brown,  Rev.  John  J 262 

Brown,  Merritt  H 257 

Brown,  Robert  C 253 

Bunnell,  Dennis 258 

Clark,  George   W 266 

Colvin,  Mrs.  Mary   Noyes 264 

Cook,  Benjamin  C 257 

Day,    Russell 261 

Davis,  Martin  L 260 

Decker,  "Huge"  Fred 254 

Doty,  Lockwood  L 267 

Daugherty,  E.    C 256 

Edwards,  Alexander 25y 

Endress,  Hon.  Isaac  L 251 

Faulkner,  Dr.  James 250 

Faulkner,  Robert  S 261 

Faulkner,  Hon.  Samuel  D 251 

George,  Moses  S 256 

Goundry,  John 261 

Grant,  Col.  Timothy   B 255 

Hicks,  Russell   F 255 

Harwood,  Benjamin  F 255 

Hedges,  Job  E 253 

Hubbard,  Soloinon 263 

Jackson,  Dr.  James  C 249 

Johnson,   Emerson 250 

Jones,  Shepard 266 

King,  James 262 

Knappenburg,    Joseph 266 

Kiehle,  Prof.  David  L 261 

Leiter,   Joseph 266 

Maxwell,  O.   B 268 

McCartney,  Judge  David 260 

McCartney.  Matthew 268 

McNair,  David  D 258 

McWhorter,  John 259 

Murdock,   James  S 263 

Palmes,    Edward  S 260 

Patterson,  Rowley 258 

Proctor,  L.  B 260 

Rau,    Erhard 264 

Sedgwick,   Henry  C 260 

Seyfforth,  Gustav 266 

Smith,  Joseph  W 262 

Smith,  Col.  S.    W 265 

Stevens,    Archelaus 252 

Sweet,   George 261 

Sweet,    Sidney 251 

VanDerlip,  Judge  John  A 252 

Whiteman,  Reuben 254 

Wilkinson,    John 265 

Wilson,  Samuel 265 

Woodruff,  B.  W 258 

Dansville  Physicians 269 


6  CONTENTS 

PART  II. 
DA^SVILLE  OF  THE  PTiESENT—^y  Contributors 

DESCRIPTIVE— BY  J.  W.  BURGESS 
Attractions —  Facilities — Resources — Advantages — Scenery — Streams — Glens 
— Hunting — Fishing — Synopsis  of  Principal  Industries Pages  5-26 

AS  A  HEALTH  RESORT— BY  JAMES  H.  JACKSON 
Health  Movement  Begun — Splendid   Conditions  Today- — Analysis  of  All  Heal- 
ing    Spring  —  Pure    Water    in    Abundance — Remarkable    Soil — Health 
Laden  Atmosphere — 700  Foot  Elevation    Above  Sea  Level — Splendid  Lo- 
cation in  Valley  with  Protecting   Hills Pages  27-31 

ORGANIZATIONS— BY  MEMBERS 
(For  Index  see  Village  Directory.) 
Churches,  by  the  Pastors — Fire  Department,   by  J.  L.   Wellington — Societies: 
Fraternal,  Temperance,  Literary,  Patriotic,  Musical,   Recreation,  Unions 
Pages  3S-9S. 

BUSINESS 
Leading  Industries — Professional,  Mercantile  and    Manufacturing    Establish- 
ments— Historical  and  Descriptive — Illustrated Pages  97-228 

NEWSPAPERS  OF  THE  PAST— BY  OSCAR  WOODRUFF 

A  complete  record  of  the  pioneer  local  Press  and  its  Influence.  .Pages  184-188. 

INDUSTRIES— FROM  CONTRIBUTED  INFORMATION 
Early     Manufactories  —  Paper     Making  —  Grapes    and     Wine  —  Nurseries 
Pages  213-227 

VILLAGE    DIRECTORY 
Business  Guide  and  Historical  Census Pages  231-272 


BUSINESS 


Advertiser,  The  Dansville 191 

American  Correspondence   Normal  209 

Artman,  C.   A 168 

Baker,  J.  H 141 

Bastian,  E.  N 142 

Blum,   Daniel 178 

Blum  Shoe  Co 132 

Breeze,  Dansville 193 

Burkhart  &  Griswold 138 

Byer,    Peter  W 202 

Citizens  Bank,  The,  of  Dansville.  134 

Cogswell,  Wm 166 

Cutler,  Dr.  G.    H 162 

Dansville  Book  Store 148 

Dansville  Gas  &  Electric  Co 181 

Dansville  Hospital 117 

Dansville  &  .Mt.  Morris  R.  R.  .  .  .  129 

Edwards,  Kern  &  Miller. 180 


Engert  &    Folts 176 

Express,  The  Dansville 189 

Fedder,  Henry 159 

Fenstermacher   Bros 149 

Foote,    Edward  J 161 

Fowler,    G,  G .  163 

Hall  Manufacturing  Co 153 

Harter,  A.    L 177 

Hotel   Livingston 179 

Hubbard,  H.  E 201 

Hyland  House 210 

Instructor  Publishing  Co 195 

Jackson  Sanatorium 98 

Jenks,  A.  H.  &   Son 164 

Johantgen  Bros iss 

Klink,  J.    F ...  165 

Kramer,  John  G 175 

Kramer  &  Son,  William 137 


BUSINESS 


Kramer  &  Sturm 

Kuhn,  Dr.  Frederick  W 

LaBoyteaiix,  Dr.    A.  &  Son 

Lackawanna  R.  R 

McPhee,  Dr.  J.  F 

Merchants  &    Farmers   National 

Bank 

Oberdorf  &   Edwards 

Our   Home   Granula  Co 

Peck,  The  Geo.    W.  Co 

Plimpton,  A.  H 

Rau,  David   E 


157 
159 
160 
121 
150 

172 
205 
111 
145 
156 
169 


Readshaw's  Forest  Mills 11.3 

Schwingel,  John   A 158 

Spinning,  W.   A.    Co 170 

Stone,  B.  S.  &  Son 212 

VanValkenburg  Music  House.  .  .  .  125 

Veith,  C.    C 208 

Veith,  Wra 152 

A.  S.    Welch 151 

Werdein,    A.    J 206 

Williams  &    Co 143 

Wilson  &  Altmeyer 126 

Worden  Bros.  Monument  Mfg.  Co.  203 


For  index  to  illustrations  see  page  265. 


eA-^^-^^i_A)vj\K-AKXLejg_^ 


A.  O.  Bunnell 

No  newspaper  man  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  probably  none 
in  the  United  States,  is  more  widely  known  and  more  generally  loved 
than  A.  O.  Bunnell,  the  editor  of  the  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  Advertiser. 
For  over  half  a  century  (1852-1902)  the  smell  of  printer's  ink  has  been 
upon  his  garments.  Born  in  Lima,  Livingston  county,  N.  Y. ,  March 
10,  1836,  he  moved  to  Dansville  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  at  sixteen 
became  a  printer's  apprentice.  In  1860,  he  founded  the  Dansville 
Advertiser,  and  has  ever  since  remained  its  editor  and  publisher.  The 
paper  typifies  the  man.  It  is  a  beautifully  printed  paper — clean  and 
wholesome  in  its  contents,  elevated  in  its  moral  tone,  and  powerful  in 
its  widely  exerted  influence.  But  this  is  not  surprising,  for  Mr.  Bun- 
nell inherited  the  best  of  American   tendencies.     He  was  the  third  of 


RESIDENCE,  A.   O.   BUNNELL 


five  children  of  Dennis  Bunnell,  four  of  whom  are  living — Miss  D.  B. 
Bunnell,  a  resident  of  Dansville;  Mrs.  Mary  Bunnell  Willard  of  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  and  Major  Mark  J.  Bunnell  of  Washington,  D.  C,  consti- 
tuting the  other  surviving  members  of  the  family. 

Dennis  Bunnell  was  the  youngest  of  the  seven  sons  of  Jehiel  Bunnell 
of  Cheshire,. Conn.,  a  revolutionary    soldier   and  a  member   of   an  old 


10  A.   O.  BUNNELL 

and  leading  family.  Jehiel  Bunnell's  wife  was  one  of  the  Hotchkiss 
family,  prominent  in  the  early  history  of  Connecticut.  A.  O.  Bunnell's 
mother  was  Mary  Baker,  daughter  of  James  Baker,  a  sturdy  pioneer 
woodsman  and  hunter,  whose  wife,  Mary  Parker,  was  the  elder  sister 
of  three  celebrated  pioneer  Methodist  circuit  preachers  of  western 
New  York — the  Rev.  Messrs.  Robert,  Samuel  and  John  Parker.  All 
these  ancestors  are  dead,  Dennis  Bunnell  entering  into  his  rest  in  1885 
and  Mary  Baker  Bunnell  in  1881. 

Mr.  Bunnell  has  never  sought  public  preferment.  The  love  of  his 
profession  has  kept  him  loyal  to  it.  In  the  congenial  atmosphere  of 
the  printing  office,  as  boy  and  man,  he  has  taken  his  greatest  delight 
and  realized  his  highest  ambitions.  Modest  and  retiring  by  nature, 
he  has  still,  by  the  force  of  his  character,  become  a  leader  in  his  pro- 
fession. For  thirty-four  years  he  has  been  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  New  York  Press  Association,  and  much  of  the  success  of  this  influ- 
ential association — probably  the  most  progressive  and  vigorous  of  its 
kind  in  the  country' — -is  concededly  due  to  his  ability,  energy  and  in- 
dustry. In  grateful  recognition  of  this  fact,  on  the  twenty-fifth  anni- 
versary of  his  connection  with  the  organization,  his  associates  pre- 
sented to  him  a  superb,  solid  silver  tea  set,  costing  over  five  hundred 
dollars.  He  became  a  member  of  the  New  York  Press  association,  on 
its  reorganization,  after  the  war,  in  1865,  and  three  years  later  was 
chosen  its  secretary,  continuing  in  that  office  ever  since. 

On  the  organization  of  the  Republican  Editorial  association  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  January  10,  1894,  in  which  Mr.  Bunnell  was  deeply 
interested,  his  associates  unanimously  chose  him  as  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  that  body.  In  July,  1894,  the  National  Editorial  associ- 
ation, at  its  annual  meeting  at  Asbury  Park,  elected  Mr.  Bunnell  as 
president  of  that  great  body  of  editors,  in  which  office  he  served  until 
January  24,  1896.  On  that  date,  the  members  of  the  association,  after 
the  convention  proceedings  held  in  St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  presented  to 
their  retiring  president,  a  handsome  cane  and  a  set  of  souvenir  gold 
and  silver  orange  knives  and  spoons.  In  accepting  this  handsome 
gift,  Mr.  Bunnell  captivated  his  hearers  by  his  most  feeling  and  felici- 
tous words.     He  said: 

"Dear  Brother  Herbert,  Dear  friends  all:  By  this  act  of  yours,  you 
have  touched  my  heart  more  deeply  than  I  can  find  words  to  tell.  I 
feel  like  one  awakened  from  a  deep  slumber.  The  vagaries  of  sleep, 
the  wonderful  fantasies  of  dreams  seem  not  more  unreal  than  that  the 
poor  boy  who  entered  a  country  printing  office  a  few  years  ago  should 
be  so  honored  by  the  chosen  representatives  of  twenty  thousand  news- 
paper men  of  this  great  nation.  You  have  touched  with  romance  the 
plain  life  of  a  country  editor.  I  love  my  profession,  I  love  my  brother 
editors,  and  I  love  the  editors'  wives,  and  I  shall  love  them  all  more 
and  more  because  of  this  occasion.  Under  the  magic  spell  of  memory 
the  walls  of  my  humble  home  will  often  expand  to  an  infinite  distance 
to  include  you  all  and  become  articulate  with  your  kind  words  of  love 
and  esteem.  That  this  gift  includes  my  true  and  honorable  wife,  dear 
to  me  as  are  the  ruddy  drops  that  visit  this  glad  heart,  makes  the  gift 
doubly  dear.     Forgive  me  that  my  heart  is  too  full  to  say  more." 

No  member  of  the  National  association  is  more  beloved  than  Mr. 
Bunnell  and  no  president  of  that  body  ever  presided  with  more  dignity 


A.   0.  BUNNELL  11 

and  satisfaction  than  he.  As  special  representative  of  the  Pan  Ameri- 
can Exposition  company,  Past  President  Bunnell's  effort  at  New  Or- 
leans in  1900  secured  the  convention  of  the  National  association  for 
Buffalo  in  1901.  When  the  National  Republican  Editorial  association 
was  organized  at  Philadelphia,  June  18,  1900,  largely  through  the  ef- 
forts of  Mr.  Bunnell  and  some  of  his  associates  in  the  New  York  Re- 
publican association,  Mr.  Bunnell  was  chosen  secretary  and  treasurer, 
a  place  which  he  still  holds.  He  has  also  been  president  of  the  Living- 
ston County  Press  association;  was  one  of  the  organizers,  in  1877,  of 
the  Livingston  County  Historical  society,  of  which  he  has  been  presi- 
dent and  is  now  one  of  the  councilmen ;  was  active  in  the  organization 
of  The  Coterie,  the  oldest  literary  society  of  Dansville  in  existence, 
and,  in  fact,  has  been  foremost  in  every  movement  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  literary  tastes  of  the  community.  He  has  been  trustee 
of  the  Dansville  seminary,  is  deeply  interested  in  its  High  school;  is 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  Dansville  &  Mt.  Morris  railroad,  and  for  a 
long  period  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Greenmount  cemetery.  His  con- 
nection with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  has  been  most 
honorable  and  distinguished,  and,  in  1884,  he  was  selected  to  the  ex- 
alted position  of  Grand  Master  of  the  New  York  state  organization, 
filling  this  place,  as  he  has  filled  every  other  which  has  come  to  him, 
with  singular  fidelity. 

On  April  9,  1863,  Mr.  Bunnell  was  married  to  Anna  M.  Carpenter, 
in  Lyons,  N.  Y.  Of  their  children,  one  daughter  and  two  sons,  only 
the  daughter,  Mrs.  Albert  Hartman  of  Dansville,  survives.  The  death 
of  Mark  H.  Bunnell,  the  only  surviving  son,  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
years,  was  a  loss  which  every  one  who  knew  this  brilliant  young  man 
most  deeply  mourned.  As  a  lad,  Mark  H.  Bunnell  was  precociously 
bright,  loving  books  and  study  and  revealing  many  of  the  admirable 
traits  and  literary  inclinations  of  his  father.  He  was  a  careful  reader 
of  all  the  best  books  of  his  time  and  a  student  of  politics  and  history. 
He  loved  music  and  art,  his  tastes  were  refined  and  he  sought  the  best 
and  most  helpful  associations.  It  is  not  surprising  that  his  parents 
looked  forward  with  eager  hope  to  a  brilliant  future  for  their  son, 
and  when  on  the  threshold  of  his  young  manhood,  he  was  stricken  by 
illness,  which,  after  a  period  of  eight  months,  terminated  fatally  on 
the  10th  of  November,  1893,  the  profoundest  sympathies  of  the  entire 
community  were  tendered  to  his  bereaved  parents.  This  was  a  sad 
and  fearful  blow,  inflicted  by  the  mysterious  hand  of  Providence,  but 
it  was  borne  with  splendid  patience  and  Christian  fortitude  by  the 
bereaved  ones. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Bunnell  has  not  been  crowded  with  events  of  extra- 
ordinary interest.  His  story  has  been  the  tale  of  an  even-minded, 
kind-hearted,  generous,  helpful  man,  who  has  found  his  greatest  satis- 
faction in  holding  up  the  hands  of  the  weak  and  strengthening  the 
purposes  of  the  strong.  Beautiful  in  his  home  life,  successful  in  his 
professional  career,  honored  as  few  men  have  been  by  his  newspaper 
associates,  and  profoundly  respected  in  his  own  community,  he  lives 
to  realize  the  fact  that  man's  success  in  life  is  best  measured  by  the 
sweet  and  lasting  contentment  which  a  record  of  good  deeds  must 
always  bring. — John  A.  Sleicher,  Editor  Leslie's  Weekly,  New  York 
City. 


PART  I 


o 


I  Dansville  o/  the  Past 


BY  A.  O.  BUNNELL 


CHAPTER  I 
£arly  Conditions 

Geological  Speculations — -First  Views — Indian  Burying  Ground — The  Gan- 
osgago  Indians- — -Relics  of  an  Indian  Fort — Mary  Jemison  and  Queen 
Esther— Red  Jacket  and  Cornplanter — The  Sullivan  Expedition — ^Tragic 
Fate  of  Boyd's  Party — Erection  of  a  Monument  in  1901 — Land  Titles. 

A  NSVIL/L/E  is  situated  at  the  extreme 
southern  end  of  the  great  basin  of  the  Genesee  Val- 
ley, which  in  prehistoric  times,  according  to  some 
of  the  geologists,  was  a  lake  extending  50  miles 
northward  to  Irondequoit  bay.  But  our  former  local 
geologist,  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Thomas,  discredits  the 
theory  that  the  valley  was  a  pre-glacial  lake,  and 
gives  reasons  for  believing  that  in  the  ice  period, 
when  the  country  was  covered  with  masses  of  ice 
from  3,000  to  5,000  feet  thick,  moving  in  southerly 
courses,  two  glaciers  met  here  and  the  contact 
caused  a  counter-movement  which  plowed  out  the 
valley.  There  is  no  law  against  accepting  either 
theory.  Dansville  is  not  a  theory,  but  a  fact.  On 
the  most  picturesque  spot  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
fertile  valley  of  the  Empire  State,  rich  in  Indian 
tradition  and  history,  is  now  the  village  of  nearly  4,000  people,  with 
fine  buildings,  prosperous  institutions,  educational  and  religious  priv- 
ileges, thrift  and  social  refinement,  which  is  rightly  called  the  gem  of 
the  valley,  and  has  grown  up  from  a  small  hamlet  within  the  memories 
of  some  who  are  now  living. 

When  the  first  settlers  came  over  the  hill  from  the  southeast,  along 
Indian  trails,  near  the  close  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  they  looked 
northward  down  the  valley  and  across  to  the  eastern  and  southern  hills 
upon  a  vast  forest  of  giant  pines  towering  above  hemlock,  maple,  elm, 
ash,  walnut,  and  other  kinds  of  trees,  dense  with  varied  foliage,  and 
spotted  in  a  few  places  with  thick  groups  of  small  yellow  pines, 
notably  along  the  lower  end  of  our  present  Main  street  on  the  north, 
and  the  Sandy  Hill  plateau  on  the  south.  Two  large  creeks  and  some 
smaller  ones  united  to  form  the  principal  tributary  of  the  Genesee,  which 
wound  twenty  miles  ribbon-like  between  the  high  banks  and  hills  that 
bounded  the  table  lands  on  either  side  to  its  confluence  with  the  river. 
The  streams  swarmed  with  speckled  trout  which  eagerly  bit  the  baited 
hook   and  with  little  effort  could  be  caught  in  sufficient  numbers  to 


17 


18 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


supply  every  meal  of  the  pioneers  with  their  dainty  meat.  Westward 
on  the  lower  flats  was  an  extensive  marsh  where  muskrats,  bullfrogs, 
and  watersnakes  enjoyed  immunity  from  their  later  enemy,  the  white 
man.  Rattlesnakes  were  so  numerous  on  the  wild  site  of  future 
Dansville  that  some  of  the  settlers  often  killed  half  a  dozen  or  more 
in  a  day,  and  whippoorwills,  aerial  companions  of  the  rattlers  wher- 
ever they  crawl,  according  to  Indian  ornithology,  sang  staccato  cho- 
ruses in  all  directions  when  day  darkened  into  evening.  There  were 
deer  enough  to  give  exciting  sport  to  the  huntsman,  and  venison 
steak  was  more  frequent  than  beef  steak  on  the  tables  of  the    pioneers 


A   PIONEER  SCENE 


durirrg  the  first  few  years  after  their  arrival.  Black  bears  showed 
themselves  occasionally,  panthers  sometimes  screamed,  and  the  howls 
of  gray  wolves  were  often  heard  at  night.  Tall  weird-looking  Indians, 
straight  as  their  arrows,  would  suddenly  appear  between  the  trees, 
gaze  curiously,  perhaps  approach  with  friendly  signs,  perhaps  offer 
venison  and  fish,  then  turn  and  vanish  as  suddenly  as  they  came.  In 
June  and  July  the  ground  in  the  more  open  places  was  red  with  wild 
strawberries,  and  along  the  feet  and  sides  of  the  hills  various  nuts  fell 
in  profusion  after  the  first  frosts.  The  borders  of  the  creeks  were 
lined  with  rushes  in  many  places,  and  these  provided  nourishing  and 
well-relished  food  for  the  cattle  and  horses  in  winter  as  well  as 
summer. 

Where  the  German  Lutheran  church  now  stands  was  the  center  of 
an  Indian  burying  grotmd  of  about  three  acres,  thick  with  graves, 
and  among  them  one  of  a  great  chief,  who,  tradition  said,  was  killed 
in  battle  on  the  eastern  hill's  table  lands,  whose  memory  was  honored 
by  a  large  monument  of  loose  stones  over  his  remains  in  the  valley, 
and  whose  bones  when  disturbed  by  well-diggers  about   1858,   showed 


EARLY  CONDITIONS  19 

him  to  be  over  seven  feet  tall.  The  battle  of  the  hill  was  between  the 
Ganosgago  and  Kanisteo  tribes,  and  took  place  long  before  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  The  Ganosgagos  had  a  village  adjacent  to  the  burying 
ground  which  was  no  longer  occupied  by  them  when  the  first  settlers 
came,  but  fifteen  or  twenty  dilapidated  huts  were  still  standing. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  this  village  was  here  as  long  ago  as  1687. 
The  site  of  Dansville  had  ceased  to  be  the  home  of  the  Ganosgagos 
some  years  before,  but  they  and  other  Senecas  sometimes  camped 
here,  favorite  camping  grounds  being  where  Little  Mill  creek  de- 
bouches into  the  valley  and  near  the  Sturgeon  place  beside  Canas- 
eraga  creek.  The  Ganosgagos  were  a  tribe  of  tlie  Senecas,  the  most 
intelligent  and  powerful  of  the  Six  Nations  which  formed  the  great 
Iroquois  League,  called  the  Romans  of  the  Western  Continent,  and 
possessing  some  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of  those  ancient 
conquerors. 

A  series  of  earthworks  or  rude  fortified  towns  at  one  time  extended 
from  the  St.  Lawrence  river  to  Lake  Erie,  and  remains  of  Indian 
forts  of  great  antiquity  were  quite  often  found  in  the  Genesee  valley. 
Doty's  History  of  Livingston  says:  On  the  farm  of  Andrew  McCurdy, 


iiiiiiimi^Hmiiii»i\ii|i||||i||iii|||«iiiiii|[|||i/iiit^^ 

"^p CANASeKA»* CsttK        -^ 


half  a  mile  west  of  the  village  of  Dansville,  across  the  Canaseraga 
creek  and  a  few  rods  south  of  the  Ossian  road,  is  another  work  of  this 
character.  Its  site,  a  bluff  at  the  foot  of  which  runs  the  Canaseraga, 
overlooks  the  fertile  valley  to  the  eastward  and  is  commanded  by  no 
neighboring  height.  To  the  north  of  the  inclbsure  a  rapid  stream 
takes  its  way  through  a  gorge  about  fifty  feet  in  depth,  which,  after 
running  parallel  to  the  creek  for  a  short  distance,  bends  abruptly  to 
the  right,  as  in  the  engraving,  and  enters  the  Canaseraga.  Near  the 
confluence  of  these  streams  the  enclosure  was  situated.  The  sharp 
acclivities  which  form  the  banks,  protected  it  on  the  north,  east  and 
west,  while  on  the  south  side  it  was  guarded  by  an  earth  wall  and 
ditch  (from  two  and  a  half  to  three  feet  deep),  that  were  still  quite 
distinct  as  late  as  the  year  1859,  when  the  field  was  plowed  for  the 
first  time.     Under  a  large  oak  stump,  presenting  214  annual  growths. 


20  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

as  counted  by  Professor  Brown,  which  stood  in  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  near  the  northeast  corner,  were  found  parts  of  three  or  four 
dark  earthen  jars,  which,  on  analysis,  yielded  animal  oil,  indicating 
their  original  use  to  have  been  that  of  cooking- vessels.  Ashes  and 
burnt  bones  of  men  and  animals  indiscriminately  mixed,  and  in  one 
place,  human  skeletons  entire  or  nearly  so,  an  earthen  pipe,  a  stone 
pestle  and  a  deer's  horn  curiously  carved,  were  found  within  the  in- 
closure.  This  fort  is  supposed  to  have  been  one  of  the  many  scatter- 
ing forts  built  by  the  Senecas  after  they  had  been  driven  from  their 
original  village  Genundewah,  near  the  village  of  Naples,  by  a  great 
serpent. 

Although  the  Senecas  had  been  mostly  driven  or  scared  away  from 
the  valley  and  eastward  lake  region  by  General  Sullivan's  army  in 
1779,  some  of  them  came  back  the  next  year,  and  afterward  remained 
on  reservations  assigned  them  by  a  government  commission  at  the 
close  of  the  Revolutioh  in  1784.  Sullivan's  terrorizing  and  devastat- 
ing expedition  had  changed  their  former  implacable  hostility  to  the 
friendship  of  fear,  and  this,  by  frequent  intercourse  with  the  whites, 
had  gradually  softened  into  kindly  feelings,  so  that  they  were  helpful 
rather  than  troublesome  to  our  first  settlers,  who  were  often  supplied 
by  them  with  needed  food  and  work.  The  titles  to  their  Livingston 
county  reservations  were  extinguished  by  the  treaty  of  1825,  but  they 
did  not  all  remove  from  them  until  about  1830,  and  up  to  that  time 
their  dusky  faces  and  aboriginal  ways  were  familiar  to  the  pioneers 
of  Dansville. 

A  remarkable  and  celebrated  character  among  the  Senecas  was 
Mary  Jemison,  "the  old  white  woman,"  who  was  captured  from  the 
whites  when  a  young  child,  became  attached  to  her  Indian  captors, 
identified  herself  with  them,  and  in  1759  made  the  first  settlement  in  the 
Genesee  country,  and  resided  in  the  valley  seventy-two  years.  The 
story  of  her  life  as  related  by  herself  and  her  benign  influence  upon 
the  Senecas  are  familiar  history.  Another  equally  remarkable  but 
contrasting  character  was  Catharine  Montour,  the  strange  and  cruel 
"Queen  Esther, "  who  distinguished  herself  in  the  horrible  massacre 
at  Wyoming,  which,  with  other  similar  massacres,  led  to  the  Sullivan 
expedition.  She  was  a  half-breed,  supposed  to  Idc  the  daughter  of 
Frontenac,  who  exercised  a  dominating  influence  over  the  Indians 
and  was  the  most  controlling  spirit  in  the  Wyoming  butchery,  where 
she  made  herself  chief  executioner,  and  murdered  the  prisoners  one 
after  another  with  maul  and  tomahawk  while  chanting  a  song.  She 
lived  near  Seneca  lake  in  Catharinetown,  which  was  destroyed  in  the 
Sullivan  expedition.  Two  other  very  distinguished  Senecas  were 
Red  Jacket  and  Cornplanter,  the  former  reputed  to  be  the  most 
eloquent  of  all  Indian  orators,  and  the  latter  also  a  fine  orator  and 
great  warrior.  They  were  rivals  at  the  treaty  of  Big  Tree  (Geneseo) 
in  1797,  when  the  Senecas  were  induced  to  sign  away  the  titles  to 
their  lands.  Afterward  Red  Jacket  came  to  the  budding  Dansville, 
when  the  Senecas  were  camping  here,  and  delivered  some  impassioned 
speeches  on  the  street,  partly  in  English  and  partly  in  the  Seneca 
language,  the  mixture  in  tongues  being  caused  by  a  too  free  indul- 
gence in  "fire  water."  The  few  white  people  who  heard  him  were 
often  spell-bound  by  his  astonishing  eloquence. 


RED  JACKET 
Seneca  Chief  and  Orator 


22  DANSVlLLE  OF  THE  PAST 

The  expedition  of  General  Sullivan  and  the  Big  Tree  treaty  hastened 
the  civilized  development  of  the  Genesee  country,  including  Dans- 
ville,  causing  settlers  to  flock  in  and  improvements  to  multiply. 
General  Sullivan  started  from  Wyoming  July  31,  1779,  and  was  joined 
by  General  Clinton  at  Tioga  Point,  when  the  combined  forces  num- 
bered about  5,000  men.  Their  course  from  the  southern  tier  was 
between  Cayuga  and  Seneca  lakes  to  their  outlets,  and  thence  west- 
ward past  the  lower  ends  of  the  series  of  lakes  between  the  Seneca 
and  the  Genesee  valley,  the  soldiers  dealing  destruction  to  Indian 
villages  and  crops  as  they  marched.  They  reached  Conesus,  near  the 
head  of  Conesus  lake,  on  September  12,  and  there  burned  an  Indian 
village  of  eighteen  houses. 

It  was  while  at  this  point  that  General  Sullivan  on  Sunday  evening, 
September  12,  ordered  Lieutenant  Thomas  Boyd  of  the  rifle  corps  to 
take  a  few  men  and  reconnoitre  toward  the  principal  Seneca  village 
on  the  Genesee.  The  party  consisting  of  twenty-six  men,  guided  by 
Hannyerry,  a  loyal  Indian,  and  accompanied  by  Timothy  Murphy,  a 
famous  Indian  fighter,  started  at  once  climbing  the  steep  Groveland 
hill,  and  when  the  night  was  far  advanced  reached  the  little  village  of 
Canaseraga  near  the  Colonel  Abell  residence.  Here  four  Indians 
were  surprised,  one  of  them  killed  and  one  wounded.  The  wounded 
Indian  and  his  two  companions  escaped  to  alarm  the  enemy,  and  a 
return  was  at  once  commenced  by  Boyd's  party.  When  descending 
the  hill  at  the  base  of  which  lay  Sullivan's  army,  the  pai'ty  was  sur- 
prised and  surrounded  by  a  large  force  of  Indians  and  British.  They 
valiantly  tried  three  times  in  vain  to  break  through  the  fatal  lines, 
inflicting  severe  loss  upon  the  enemy.  Seventeen  of  their  number 
were  killed,  including  Hannyerry  the  guide,  when  the  lines  were 
broken  and  Murphy  and  four  others  escaped,  while  Lieutenant  Boyd 
and  Sergeant  Michael  Parker  were  taken  prisoners  and  conveyed  to 
the  great  Seneca  Castle  near  Cuylerville,  where  their  bodies  were 
found  September  14,  horribly  mutilated  by  the  tortures  to  which  they 
had  been  subjected.  They  were  buried  with  the  honors  of  war  near 
the  spot.  In  August,  1841,  their  remains  were  exhumed  and,  with 
those  of  their  seventeen  companions  who  were  killed  in  Groveland, 
were  re-interred  in  Mt.  Hope  Cemetery,  Rochester,  with  impressive 
military  and  civic  ceremonies  at  Geneseo  and  Rochester,  Hon.  Wil- 
liam H.  Seward  delivering  an  address  in  Rochester.  It  was  left  for 
the  Livingston  County  Historical  society,  through  its  special  com- 
mittee, Hon.  William  P.  Letchworth,  Hon.  Lockwood  R.  Doty,  Wil- 
liam A.  Brodie,  and  Chauncey  K.  Sanders,  sixty  years  later,  to  take 
ineasures  which  resulted  in  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  mark  the 
tragic  scene  of  this  one  of  the  earliest  and  bravest  struggles  for  Amer- 
ican freedom.  The  monument  was  put  in  place  November  16,  1901 , 
and  appropriate  ceremonies  will  probably  be  observed  this  year  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Historical  Society.  The  monument  of  marble 
consists  of  three  pieces,  the  base  which  is  three  feet  square,  the  die 
which  is  two  feet  square  and  four  feet  high,  and  the  shaft  which  is 
seventeen  inches  square  at  the  base  and  tapers  gently  to  the  top. 
The  shaft  is  nine  feet,  six  inches  long,  making  the  monument  four- 
teen feet  high. 


ANDREW  JOHN 
Representative  Seneca  Indian  of  Today 


24  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

The  inscriptions  on  the  die  are  as  follows : 

On  the  east   front. 

Erected  by    the   Livingston    County    Historical    Society. 
Scene  of  the  massacre,  after  a  desperate  and  heroic 
struggle,  of  Lieutenatit  Thomas   Boyd's  scout- 
ing party  of  General  Sullivan' s  army  by 
an  ambuscade  of  British  and  Indians 
under     Butler     and     Brant. 
September    13,    1779. 

On  the  north  front. 

Sacred  to   the  memory  of  Lieutenant  Thojnas  Boyd,  and 
Sergeant    Michael    Parker,    ivho    were    captured 
and  afterward  tortured    and   killed. 
Afar  their  bones  may   lie, 
Btit  here  their  patriot  blood 
Baptized  the   land  for  aye 
And  widened  Freedom' s  flood. 

On  the  south  front. 

Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Hamiyerry,  a  loyal  Oneida  chief. 

Sergeant    Nicholas  Hungcrman. 

Privates    John     Conrey,      William     Faiighey,      William 

Harvey,  James  McElroy,  John    Miller,     Benjamin 

Curti7i,   Johfi  Putnam,   and  seven  others,  names 

unkjiown,    who  fell  and  were  buried  here. 

The  army  entered  the  valley  not  far  from  the  confluence  of  the  Gene- 
see river  and  Canaseraga  creek,  and  proceeded  up  the  river,  laying 
waste  the  other  Seneca  villages  and  all  the  cornfields  and  orchards. 
Drynondahgoeeh  or  Beardstown  was  the  largest  village  destroyed. 
Here  lived  the  noted  chief  Little  Beard,  and  from  here  Brant  and  the 
Butlers  went  forth  to  the  massacre  of  Wyoming.  It  occupied  a  part 
of  the  site  of  Cuylerville.  During  the  march  of  Sullivan's  army  they 
burnt  forty  Indian  towns,  destroyed  160,000  bushels  of  corn  in  fields 
and  granaries,  cut  down  many  hundreds  of  fruit  trees,  desolated  the 
gardens,  and  in  this  tragic  way  "opened  to  commerce  and  civilization 
a  territory  exceeding  one-third  of  the  state."  Many  of  the  Senecas 
fled  to  Fort  Niagara,  and  a  large  number  of  them  died  there  of  starv- 
ation and  cold  during  the  very  rigorous  winter  that  followed.  Many 
more  migrated  to  the  West,  but  there  are  now  1,225  Senecas  on  the 
Cattaraugus  reserve  in  Western  New  York,  holding  21,680  acres  of 
land,  with  T.  F.  Jamerson  as  president  of  the  Nation.  General  Sulli- 
van received  the  thanks  of  Congress,  but  the  animus  and  doings  of  the 
expedition  -have  been  severely  criticised  by  humanitarians  and  others. 
Whether  or  not  the  extreme  measures  adopted  were  justifiable,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  they  were  of  swift  progressive  value  to  this  valley,  and 
that  but  for  them  the  settlement  of  Dansville  would  have  been  delayed 
many  years.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  the  disciplinary  march  greatly 
expedited  the  opening  of  the  western  territories.  At  that  time  there 
were  two  Indian  trails  from  Rochester  to  Dansville,  one  on  each  side 
of  the  Genesee  and  Canaseraga  creek,  and  three  trails  southward. 


T.  r.  JAMERSON 
President  Seneca  Nation 


26  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Something-  should  be  said  in  this  connection  about  land  titles  soon 
after  the  Revolutionary  war.  Conflicting  questions  of  boundary 
between  New  York  and  Massachusetts  were  settled  in  1786  by  a  com- 
promise, whereby  Massachusetts  relinquished  her  claims  derived  from 
a  charter  granted  by  the  English  government  in  1609,  to  lands  in 
this  state,  and  New  York  ceded  to  her  the  pre-emption  right  to  all 
lands  west  of  a  line  running  due  north  from  the  eighty-second  mile 
stone  on  the  north  boundary  of  Pennsylvania,  excepting  a  narrow 
belt  along  the  Niagara  river.  This  pre-emption  line  began  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Steuben  county,  and  extended  to  Sodus  bay.  The 
pre-emption  lands,  six  million  acres,  were  ceded  by  Massachusetts  to 
Phelps  and  Gorham  soon  after  the  treaty  with  New  York,  for  about 
$150,000,  the  purchasers  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title.  Oliver 
Phelps  then  succeeded  in  making  a  contract  with  the  Senecas  whereby 
he  obtained  full  title  to  2,600,000  acres  of  the  pre-emption  lands,  the 
consideration  being  a  first  payment  of  $5,000,  and  $500  annually 
thereafter  without  time  limit.  The  west  line  extended  from  the 
boundary  of  Pennsylvania  at  a  point  eighty-two  miles  west  from  its 
northeast  corner  to  the  confluence  of  the  Genesee  river  and  Canaseraga 
creek,  thence  along  the  Genesee  river  to  Canawaugus,  thence  west 
twelve  miles,  and  thence  northerly  twelve  miles  from  the  Genesee  to 
Lake  Ontario.  The  rest  of  the  six-million-acre  tract  went  back  to 
Massachusetts  because  the  Indian  title  to  it  was  not  extinguished. 
In  1790  Phelps  and  Gorham  sold  their  purchase  to  Robert  Morris,  and 
he  in  turn  sold  the  most  of  it  the  next  year  to  an  English  company 
headed  by  Sir  William  Pulteney,  and  it  became  known  as  the  Pulteney 
estate.  This  company  afterward  deeded  the  tract  to  Captain  Charles 
Williamson,  who  had  become  naturalized  in  1792,  and  he  held  the 
estate  in  trust  for  the  company  until  the  laws  permitted  aliens  to 
hold  real  estate.  The  Pulteney  estate  as  purchased  of  Robert  Morris 
in  1791  contained  1,267,569  acres,  and  the  price  paid  was  75,000 
pounds  sterling.  It  embraced  the  present  counties  of  Ontario,  Yates, 
and  Steuben,  and  large  portions  of  Livingston,  Monroe,  Schuyler, 
Allegany  and  Chemung. 


ROBERT  MORRIS 
Purchaser  of  Seneca  Lands 


CHAPTER  II 
First  Settlers 

First  Families  Came  in  June  179S — James  McCurdy's  Reminiscences' — The 
First  Marriage — Daniel  P.  Faulkner's  Enterprise — William  Ferine — ■ 
Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester — Dr.  James  Faulkner's  Reminisences — Indian 
Festivities — Local  Diseases — Sandy  Hill — The  Brails,  Lemens  and 
Stones. 

THERE  is  a  little  confusion  of  statements  about  some  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Dansville,  but  evidence  is  conclusive  that 
the  first  family  to  establish  themselves  on  the  present 
site  of  Dansville  village  consisted  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cor- 
nelius McCoy,  their  stepsons,  David  and  James  McCurdy, 
and  their  stepdaughter,  Mary  McCurdy.  This  was  in 
June,  1795.  The  boys  were  then,  respectively,  sixteen 
and  thirteen  years  old,  and  Mary  was  a  young  lady. 

It  is  also  evident  that  William  McCartney  and  Andrew 
Smith  were  then  settled  in  Sparta,  about  three  miles  dis- 
tant, having  come  there  in  1792. 
The  McCoys  were  natives  of  the  north  of  Ireland  and  the  McCurdys 
were  Scotch.  They  emigrated  to  America  in  1788,  and  went  first  to 
Northumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  resided  until  they 
moved  to  Dansville,  journeying  through  an  almost  unbroken  wilder- 
ness by  way  of  Painted  Post,  Bath  and  the  Springwater  valley.  At  first 
they  occupied  a  surveyor's  hut  where  the  Conrad  Welch  house  is  on  the 
corner  of  Ossian  and  Spruce  streets,  but  in  the  fall  Mr.  McCoy  and 
the  boys  cut  logs  for  a  cabin  eighteen  by  fourteen  feet,  and  Indians 
came  from  Geneseo,  Mt.  Morris  (then  Allen's  Hill),  Painted  Post, 
and  Bath  to  help  them  put  it  up.  The  cabin  was  roofed  with  bass- 
wood  bark.  It  stood  near  the  spot  of  the  David  McNair  house  where 
there  was  a  fine  spring  of  water.  The  nearest  family  on  the  south 
was  Judge  Hulbert's  at  Arkport,  11  miles  distant,  and  Mrs.  McCoy 
and  Mrs.  Hulbert  occasionally  walked  through  the  woods  to  visit 
each  other,  returning  home  the  same  day.  In  a  paper  of  remi- 
niscences written  by  James  McCurdy,  now  in  possession  of  his  grand- 
son, James  M.  Edwards,  he  states  that  he  was  born  in  Ireland  in 
1782,  that  his  father  died  when  he  was  eighteen  months  old,  that  his 
mother  afterward  married  Mr.  McCoy,  and  that  she  died  at  the  age 
of  ninety-two.     The  paper  says: 

"The  country  had  a  wild  but  attractive  appearance.  It  was  very 
productive  for  the  various  kinds  of  grain  and  vegetables  now  grown 
among  us.  We  sold  the  most  of  our  grain  and  stock  for  some  years 
to  the  new  settlers,  but  occasionally  would  go  elsewhere  for  a  market. 
The  second  year  after  we  came  we  went  to  Bath  with  a  load  of  oats, 
and  were  obliged  to  sell  them  to  Dugald  Cameron  for  Zly^  cents  a 
bushel  and  take  pay  in  goods.  Bath  was  then  considered  one  of  the 
best  markets  in  this  section  of  the  state.  Grain  was  brought  there 
from  Geneva  and  shipped  down  the  Cohocton,  Chemung,  and  Susque- 

28 


30  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

hanna  rivers  in  arks.  We  were  obliged  to  go  to  the  Onondaga  salt 
works  with  teams  for  salt,  where  it  usually  cost  two  dollars  per  barrel 
and  was  often  sold  here  for  ten  dollars  a  barrel.  *         *         *         * 

We  could  hardly  have  lived  here  the  first  year  had  it  not  been  for 
the  Indians,    who  were  exceedingly  friendly.  *         *         *         * 

"The  year  after  we  came  Amariah  Hammond,  Dr.  James  Faulkner, 
Samuel  Faulkner,  Captain  Daniel  P.  Faulkner,  and  William  Porter 
settled  near  us.  Thomas  Macklen  was  our  first  school  teacher.  *  * 
There  were  very  few  sheep  in  this  section,  so  that  it  was  hard  work 
to  procure  wool  for  stockings.  A  Mr.  Duncan  had  a  few  which  he 
brought  from  Pennsylvania.  I  tried  to  buy  one,  and  he  finally  told 
me  that  if  I  would  reap,  bind,  and  shock  two  acres  of  barley,  I  might 
have  one  a  year  old,  which  I  did  in  two  days.  Since  that  time  I  have 
always  kept  sheep,  some  years  to  the  number  of  3,000.  *  *  For  a 
number  of  years  it  was  a  great  tax  upon  us  to  attend  courts,  as  the 
country  was  so  thinly  settled  that  we  were  called  upon  at  least  three 
times  a  year  to  serve  as  jurors,  and  go  twenty-eight  miles.  About 
twelve  years  after  we  came  a  man  named  Benjamin  Kenyon  moved 
into  our  village.  He  was  a  desperate  character.  We  nicknamed  him 
Captain  Pogue,  and  from  this  came  the  name  of  Pogue's  Hole,  ap- 
plied to  the  narrow  valley  where  he  lived." 

Mr.  McCoy  died  in  1809.  David  McCurdy  finally  moved  west,  and 
James  succeeded  to  the  homestead  farm  of  300  acres  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  village.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Sarah 
Gray,  whose  father  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Allegany  county.  Both 
lived  on  the  old  farm  until  they  died.  The  nearest  grist  mill  in  the 
first  two  years  was  at  Conesus  lake  outlet,  twenty  miles  away,  and 
the  new  settlers  were  often  without  flour  and  meal.  Indians  brought 
to  the  McCoys  plenty  of  venison,  and  received  in  payment  for  a 
quarter  of  deer,  two  pumpkins,  or  six  turnips,  or  two  quarts  of  corn ; 
this  currency  system  having  been  arranged  by  Mrs.  McCoy. 

McCartney  and  Smith,  the  first  settlers  of  Sparta,  before  men- 
tioned, emigrated  together  from  Scotland  in  1791,  the  former  to  be 
clerk  for  Captain  Charles  Williamson  as  agent  for  the  Pulteney  estate. 
They  went  first  to  Philadelphia,  and  early  the  next  winter  to  Bath, 
which  was  then  the  home  of  Captain  Williamson,  and  after  a  few 
months  more  came  to  Sparta,  arriving  there  in  the  summer  of  1792. 
They  occupied  a  log  cabin  which  had  been  built  by  Captain  William- 
son on  the  west  bank  of  Canaseraga  creek  three  miles  north  of  Dans- 
ville  village,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  McNair  farm,  and  kept 
bachelor's  hall  there  for  two  years.  Then  Smith  went  to  Bath  and 
McCartney  moved  up  the  creek  to  the  locality  of  Cumminsville,  where 
he  had  purchased  209  acres  on  the  flats  and  built  a  log  house.  Three 
years  later  he  escorted  to  this  rustic  home  his  beautiful  bride — Mary 
McCurdy  of  the  McCoy  household.  They  were  married  July  14, 
1796,  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills  of  Groveland,  and  this  was  the  flrst 
marriage  within  the  present  town  of  North  Dansville.  They  became 
the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  eleven  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 
Mr.  McCartney  was  one  of  the  founders  and  first  elders  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  of  Sparta,  was  supervisor  of  the  town  for  twenty- 
seven  years,  and  served  one  term  as  Member  of  Assembly.  He  died 
in  1831,   and  his  wife  in  1864. 


32  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Amariah  Hammond,  one  of  the  settlers  who  came  in  1796,  built 
the  second  log  house  of  the  village  that  year,  and  moved  his  wife  and 
child  from  Bath  into  it.  He  belled  his  horse  in  order  to  find  him 
when  he  strayed  into  the  forest,  and  sharpened  his  ploughshare  when 
dull,  on  a  large  stone.  If  he  had  his  horse  shod  he  must  go  to  Bath, 
thirty-five  miles  distant,  as  the  nearest  blacksmith  shop  was  there. 
When  the  time  for  cutting  his  first  hay  crop  approached  he  went  to  Tioga 
Point  for  scythes,  two  of  which,  with  expenses,  cost  him  eleven  dollars. 
His  brother  Lazarus  came  soon  afterward,  and  settled  in  a  loghouse 
near  him. 

Captain  Williamson  was  the  founder  of  the  ancient  village  of  Wil- 
liamsburg, now  utterly  vanished,  at  the  intersection  of  Canaseraga 
creek  with  the  Genesee  river,  this  spot  being  selected  because  the 
creek  was  then  navigable  with  flat  boats  or  arks  to  Dansville,  twenty 
miles  distant.  This  was  in  1792,  and  a  colony  was  brought  there  in 
that  year.  It  was  the  first  white  man's  village  in  the  county,  and 
there  the  first  school  in  the  county  was  taught  by  Samuel  Murphy ; 
the  first  tavern  was  kept  by  William  Lemen ;  the  first  store  was  opened 
by  Alexander  McDonald,  and  the  first  evangelical  preacher  was 
Rev.   Samuel  J.  Wilkinson. 

Statements  have  been  published  that  in  1793  Captain  Williamson 
built  a  grist  mill  and  saw  mill  at  the  upper  end  of  present  Dansville, 
but  this  does  not  harmonize  with  other  statements,  and  his  mills 
there  could  not  have  been  built  before  1796  or  1797.  The  grist  mill 
was  burned  before  it  was  entirely  finished  and  was  rebuilt  in  1806. 
He  and  his  agents  sold  from  the  Pulteney  estate  a  large  portion  of  the 
present  town  of  Dansville  for  $1.50  an  acre  on  a  credit  of  six  years. 
In  1793  he  started  the  first  regular  horse  race  of  the  county  at  Wil- 
liamsburg. The  advertising  bill  was  headed  "Williamsburg  Fair 
and  Genesee  Races,"  and  the  bill  stated  that  there  would  be  "an  an- 
nual fair  for  the  purchase  of  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep. ' '  The  next 
year  fourteen  horses  were  entered  for  a  fifty-pound  purse.  Captain 
Williamson's  advertisements  and  personal  invitations  brought  to  the 
valley  gentlemen  from  Virginia,  Pennsylvania  and  other  states,  some 
of  them  with  their  slaves,  and  a  number  of  them  remained  and 
became  settlers.  His  principal  object  was  to  sell  them  lands  of  his 
vast  holdings,  and  his  plan  was  successful.  In  addition  to  Williams- 
burg he  established  the  first  settlements  at  Bath  and  Great  Sodus. 
A  biographical  sketch  of  him  is  given  in  another  chapter. 

Daniel  P.  Faulkner  purchased  6,000  acres  of  land  immediately  after 
he  came  here  from  Danville,  Pa.,  and  induced  about  fifteen  families 
to  move  here  and  settle.  He  brought  to  Dansville  the  first  stock  of 
goods,  which  were  drawn  on  a  sleigh  from  Albany.  In  1796,  the  year 
of  his  arrival,  he  laid  out  the  village  and  it  was  named  after  him. 
He  was  enterprising  and  popular,  and  spent  his  money  too  freely. 
His  military  tastes  led  him  to  organize  and  captain  a  showy  military 
company  of  thirty  men  called  Grenadiers.  He  failed  in  1798,  and 
went  back  to  his  old  home  in  Pennsylvania  but  returned  in  1802  and 
died  here.  His  brother  Samuel  bought  several  village  lots  and  put 
up  the  first  frame  dwelling — -a  two-story  house  near  the  site  of  the 
Livingston  hotel.  He  commenced  keeping  a  tavern  in  1797,  this 
being  the  second  Dansville  tavern,   John  Vandeventer  having  pre- 


FIRS  r  SE  TTL IiRS 


33 


ceded  him  a  few  months  in  the  business  in  a  small  plank  house.  The 
other  brother,  James,  who  came  in  1813,  was  a  graduate  of  Rush  col- 
lege, and  the  pioneer  physician  of  the  village. 


AN    EARLY   GRIST   MILL  ON   UPPER   MAIN    STREET 


Christopher  Vandeventer  was  another  settler  who  came  in  1796. 
He  was  from  New  Jersey,  and  settled  on  the  Charles  Shepard  house 
site.  He  was  the  pioneer  tanner,  and  three  sons  came  here  with  him 
who  were  tanners,  although  John,  the  oldest,  kept  the  first  tavern  for 
a  short  time.  The  father  died  of  fever  in  1798.  Nathaniel  and  Wil- 
liam Porter  of  the  group  of  1796  settlers  were  from  New  Jersey. 
Nathaniel  died  the  next  year,  which  was  the  first  death  in  town. 
Thomas  Macklen,  the  first  school  teacher,  was  a  Scotchman  and 
probably  came  to  Dansville  in  1797.  He  taught  ten  or  twelve  scholars 
in  1798  in  the  pioneer  schoolhouse,  which  stood  about  a  mile  north  of 
the  centre  of  the  village.  Dodsworth's  spelling  book  was  then  used. 
He  married  into  the  McCurdy  family,  and  taught  school  here  many 
years.     He  died  in  1822. 

William  Ferine  came  from  Washington  county  to  the  ancient  vil- 
lage of  Williamsburg  in  1797,  but  moved  up  the  valley  to  Dansville 
two  years  later  and  settled  at  the  head  of  Ferine  street,  which  took 
his  name.  He  bought  large  tracts  of  land  on  the  east  side  of  Main 
street,  of  which  there  were  several  hundred  acres  of  hill  land,  includ- 
ing the  site  and  grounds  of  the  present  Sanatorium.  He  had  been  in 
the  army  of  the  Revolution  five  years,  and  was  a  captain  of  cavalry 
under  General  Francis  Marion.  He  died  in  1847,  aged  ninety-three. 
The  late  Feter  Ferine  was  his  son,  and  Dr.  Francis  Marion  Ferine 
and  Thomas  L.   Ferine  are  his  grandsons, 


34 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


Colonel  Nathaniel  Rochester, 
from  whom  the  city  of  Rochester 
is  named,  visited  this  locality  in 
1800,  and  came  to  reside  here  in 
1810,  having  first  purchased  a 
large  tract  of  land  embracing  the 
most  of  the  water  power  of  the 
village.  He  bought  the  mills 
which  had  been  erected  for  the 
Pulteney  estate,  and  built  the 
pioneer  paper  mill  of  Western 
New  York.  He  was  an  officer  of 
the  Revolution  and  a  friend  of 
Washington.  In  1814  he  disposed 
of  his  property  here,  a  part  to 
Rev.  Christopher  Endress  and 
the  rest  to  Jacob  Opp,  both  of 
Easton,  Pa.  Rev,  Mr.  Endress 
went  back  to  Easton  to  take 
charge  of  his  former  German 
Lutheran  church.  His  two  sons, 
Judge  Isaac  L.  and  Doctor  Sam- 
uel L.  Endress,  afterward  became 
ixsidents  of  Dansville.  Mr.  Opp 
built  a  grist  mill,  clover  mill  and 
tannery  on  his  property  near  the 
upper  Readshaw  mill.  Near  them 
were  the  mills  erected  by  Cap- 
tain Williamson.  Later,  William 
Porter,  one  of  the  settlers  of 
1796,  and  his  brother  David  erected  a  saw  mill,  grist  mill  and  paper 
mill  by  the  side  of  Canaseraga  creek,  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley. 
A  grist  mill  built  by  David  Sholl  in  1800  was  burned  in  1807. 

In  some  reminiscences  of  William  Scott  of  Scottsburg,  deceased,  he 
stated  that  in  1812  Jared  Irwin  and  John  Metcalf  were  the  only  Dans- 
ville merchants,  and  brought  their  goods  from  Philadelphia  overland 
to  the  Susquehanna,  and  thence  by  boat  to  Newtown  (Elmira).  Mr. 
Scott  came  here  from  Sparta  that  year  to  be  a  clerk  for  Mr.  Irwin. 
James  McCurdy  also  clerked  for  Mr.  Irwin  about  that  time.  In  1813 
John  Shepard  came  from  Connecticut,  and  became  a  merchant.  At 
that  time  trade  was  nearly  all  a  barter  business.  Wheat  was  then  sent 
to  Montreal. 

Peter  Sholl  came  from  Pennsylvania  in  1808.  There  were  then 
about  a  score  of  houses,  but  neither  church  nor  school  building  within 
the  village  limits.  Mr.  Sholl  soon  became  owner  of  a  grist  mill  and 
traded  a  good  deal  with  the  Indians.  In  the  log  school  house  a  mile 
north  of  the  village  there  was  preaching  some  of  the  time  on  Sundav 
and  singing  school  once  a  week. 

Some  of  the  settlers  not  yet  mentioned  who  came  before  1800,  were 
Frederick  Barnhart,  Jacob  Martz,  George  Shirey,  Jacob  Welch,  James 
Logan,  William  Phenix,  John  Phenix  and  Jared  Irwin. 


COL.   NATHANIEL   ROCHESTER. 


36 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


The  brothers  Solomon  and  Isaac 
Fenstermacher  came  in  1805  and  for 
some  time  built  most  of  the  frame 
houses,  which  included  the  only  three 
story  building  in  the  county  at  that 
date.  It  was  nicknamed  "Solomon's 
Temple."  Among  others  who  are 
named  as  having  settled  here  very 
near  the  beginning  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century,  were  Thomas  McWhorter, 
James  Harrison,  Samuel  Shannon, 
Jonathan  Rowley,  John  Haas,  Daniel 
Hamsher,  Oliver  Warren  and  Samuel 
Dorr.  James  Scott,  who  came  from 
Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  Sparta 
with  his  family  in  1806,  remembered 
that  David  Shell  then  owned  the  Wil- 
liamson mill  at  Dansville,  and  named 
among  other  residents,  Peter  LaFlesh, 
Matthew  Patterson,  Peter  and  Jacob 
Welch,  Jonathan  Stout,  John  Metcalf, 
Owen  Wilkinson,  David,  James,  and 
Matthew   Porter. 

When  the  McNinches  settled  in 
Conesus  in  1804  they  did  their  trad- 
merchants  would  sell  them  only  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  of  tea  and  two  pounds  of  coffee  at  a  time,  and  they 
paid  three  or  four  shillings  a  pound  for  the  coffee  and  from  six  to 
twelve  shillings  for  the  tea,  while  they  could  not  get  sugar  and 
molasses  at  any  price. 

Some  reminiscences  by  Dr.  James  Faulkner  are  in  place  here.  On 
January  31,  1873,  there  was  a  pioneer  gathering  at  his  house  in  cele- 
bration of  his  eighty-third  birthday,  the  following  being  present: 
Andrew  Arnold  91,  Harry  Hyde  88,  Robert  McBride  87,  Moses  B. 
Oilman  86,  Erhardt  Rau  85,  Daniel  Porter  84,  Nathan  Lockling  83, 
James  Faulkner  83,  John  Reese  83,  William  Scott  82,  William  Perine 
80,  Obed  Aldrich  79,  Moses  George  78,  E.  B.  Brace  78,  Luther  Peck 
73,  John  Goundry  71. 

In  the  remarks  made  by  Dr.  Faulkner  at  that  time,  he  said  there 
were  but  fifteen  or  sixteen  families  when  he  came  here  in  1797  and 
only  one  frame  house  on  Main  street,  which  was  not  enclosed,  the 
other  houses,  except  a  plank  store,  being  of  logs.  A  man  named 
Macklen  kept  a  school  in  the  winter  of  1798  and  had  ten  or  twelve 
scholars,  and  Gaylord  taught  ten  or  twelve  scholars  in  1799.  Dr. 
Faulkner's  father  built  a  frame  house  in  the  summer  of  1797,  and  in 
the  fall  used  it  for  a  tavern.  When  he  came,  his  uncle,  James  Faulk- 
ner, lived  in  a  shanty  that  he  had  built  by  the  paper  mill.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  legislature  in  1802  and  1803,  and  was  appointed  first 
judge  of  Steuben  county  in  1804.  Amariah  Hammond  came  in  1796 
and  his  brother  Lazarus  about  1800.  Pie  sold  the  land  that  he  then 
bought  to  John  Hartman.  John  Hartman  was  the  eldest  of  thirteen 
children  of  Harmon  Plartman  who  settled   near   the   location   of  the 


MRS.   SOLOMON   FENSTERMACH  tR 

DAUGHTEP.  OF  DAVID  SHOLL 


ing    in    Dansville,     and    the 


FIRST  SETTLERS 


37 


present  village  of  Dansville  in  1807.  John  followed  farming  and  kept 
a  tavern  in  the  house  built  by  his  father  which  is  now  occupied  by 
Orville  T.  Hartman,  the  great  grandson  of  Harmon.  A  picture  of 
house  and  sign  are  given.  John  and  his  wife  Mai-y  died  within  two 
days  of  each  other,  February  17  and  19,  1845,  of  malignant  erysipelas 
which  carried  off  so  many  early  settlers  as  elsewhere  noted.  Of  John's 
family  of  nine  children  three  survive,  George  of  Dansville,  Endress  of 
West  Virginia  and  Samuel  Frederick  of  Buffalo.  The  John  Hartman 
estate  when  divided  among  the  children  in  1848  contained  579  acres. 


JOHN   HARTMAN   INN  AND   SIGN. 


The  Indians  that  lived  on  the  Genesee  river  reservation  gener- 
ally came  up  here  to  the  hunting  grounds  in  October.  Their 
favorite  camping  place  was  under  the  bank  in  the  creek  gulch 
by  the  California  House.  They  built  their  houses  by  divisions  or 
families,  and  went  together  in  small  tribes,  and  the  children  followed 
the  mothers.  They  had  their  celebrations  about  the  first  of  Feb- 
ruary, and  one  of  them  lasted  five  or  six  days.  They  made  a  sacri- 
fice of  five  or  six  white  dogs,  tying  them  by  their  necks  to  a  pole. 
Dr.  Faulkner  said  that  up  to  twenty  years  of  age  he  beat  the  swiftest 
Indian  runners  they  could  bring,  but  was  finally  beaten  by  one  who 
came  from  Buffalo.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  money  here  for  many 
years,  and  the  merchants  sold  the  most  of  their  goods  for  fiu-s.  In 
1805,  when  Dr.  Faulkner's  father  died,  there  were  more  Indians  than 
white  people  in  town. 


38  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

In  those  years,  when  the  Indians  camped  here,  and  Red  Jacket 
made  occasional  speeches  on  the  street,  they  danced,  wrestled,  ran 
races,  and  sometimes  indulged  in  pagan  orgies  around  their  camp 
fires.  The  wrestlers  sometimes  contended  to  determine  who  should 
have  a  coveted  squaw,  and  there  was  such  a  contest  once  on  Ossian 
street  between  two  of  the  strongest  braves  for  the  possession  of  a 
young  squaw  of  extraordinary  beauty  who  sat  near  and  watched 
them.  The  struggle  was  a  long  one  in  which  there  were  several 
throws,  and  was  equivalent  to  a  fight  to  the  finish.  At  its  close  the 
defeated  Indian  pushed  his  conqueror  toward  the  squaw  and  said, 
"Take  her,"  when  the  other  silently  stalked  away  with  the  dusky 
beauty,  who  seemed  perfectly  content.  In  cold  weather  Indians 
would  sometimes  ask  the  white  settlers  for  a  night's  lodging,  and 
Mrs.  McCoy  has  given  sleeping  accommodations  to  as  many  as  a 
dozen  of  them  at  once.  They  would  stretch  themselves  out  close 
together  on  the  floor,  and  make  no  sound  until  morning. 

In  1805  the  influx  of  settlers  all  along  the  valley  was  so  great  that 
provisions  became  very  scarce,  and  many  were  charitably  supplied 
by  the  former  settlers.  Up  to  this  time  agues  and  bilious  complaints 
were  very  common,  but  afterward  i-apidly  lessened.  The  "Genesee 
fever,"  of  a  low  typhoid  type,  also  prevailed,  and  was  sometimes  fatal. 
From  December  1,  to  the  middle  of  March,  1812,  a  malignant  form 
of  typhoid  pneumonia  spread  through  the  valley  and  Western  New 
York.  It  originated  in  the  British  army  in  Canada,  and  was  brought 
over  by  soldiers.  Dr.  Lyman  N.  Cook  of  Dansville  said  that  it  was 
fatal  as  often  as  once  in  three  cases,  and  patients  sometimes  died  in 
three  or  four  hours  after  they  were  attacked. 

The  Sandy  Hill  settlement,  partly  in  this  town,  has  been  so  closely 
identified  with  the  village  that  it  should  not  be  entirely  omitted  in  an 
account  of  the  early  times. 

John  Brail,  born  in  1771,  came  to  Dansville  in  1813,  moved  to 
Sandy  Hill  two  years  later,  and  made  the  first  clearing  in  that  locality. 
He  was  called  "Grandpap, "  and  was  a  teller  of  large,  incredible 
stories.  He  manufactured  much  charcoal.  Several  other  settlers 
quickly  followed  him,  and  in  December,  1813,  they  held  their  first 
school  meeting  at  the  house  of  Rufus  Stone,  with  William  S.  Lemen 
as  moderator.  The  result  was  a  finished  plank  schoolhouse  by  the 
next  January,  with  a  huge  fireplace  at  one  end  and  on  each  side  a 
twelve-paned  window  of  seven  by  nine  glass.  E.  W.  Brockway  was 
immediately  installed  as  teacher  at  $13.50  a  month.  Not  until  1824 
was  a  box  stove  substituted  for  the  fireplace.  This  schoolhouse  was 
the  educational,  religious  and  social  center  of  the  Sandy  Hill  people 
until  1845,  when  a  new  one  was  built.  In  1826  ninety  pupils  were 
taught  there. 

Rufus  Stone  came  with  his  family  from  Onondaga  county  in  1816, 
after  prospecting  the  previous  year.  He  took  up  a  tract  of'  land  near 
Stone's  Falls,  which  takes  its  name  from  him,  and  was  the  first  one 
to  use  its  water  power.  He  built  a  saw  mill  there  in  1816,  which 
was  in  operation  till  1840.  In  1825  he  built  a  mill  for  the  manufac 
ture  of  flaxseed  oil.  He  died  in  1842,  and  his  son  Benjamin  succeeded 
to  his  business,  and  built  a  new  saw  mill  and  new  oil  mill.  Broton 
S.    Stone,    still  living,   established  a  wagon  manufactory  in  1848,  and 


FIRST  SETTLJiRS 


39 


was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Dansville  Grange  No.  178  in  1874, 
which  put  up  a  hall  costini)'  $2,000,  and  is  one  of  the  best  organiza- 
tions of  its  kind  in  the  state.  William  S.  Lemen  moved  from  Ossian 
to  Sandy  Hill  in  181(),  and  his  son  James  B.  was  the  first  child  born 
in  that  settlement.  Chauncey  Day  built  a  saw  mill  there  in  1817,  and 
in  1821  ]\[r.  Dorr  had  a  woollen  mill  in  operation.  In  1839-40  L.  Mel- 
vin,  W.  H.  Reynolds  and  Jonathan]Proctor  as^partners  had  a  hoe  factory 


STONE'S   FALLS. 


constructed  there,  with  the  best  possible  machinery  for  making  and 
grinding  superior  steel  hoes.  Their  business  prospered  from  the  start, 
and  they  made  large  preparations  for  extending  it,  but  a  fire  destroyed 
shops  and  machinery  in  September,  1841,  and  although  the  shops  were 
rebuilt,  the  attending  expense  and  a  series  of  misfortunes  defeated 
their  plans  and  hopes. 


CHAPTER  III 
I^ater    E-arly  Days 

In  1812 — Transferred  from  Steuben  to  Livingston  County — Water  Power  At- 
traction— The  Canal  Period — Factories  and  Mills — Business  in  1830 — 
First  Schools — Noted  Visitors — Martin  VanBuren  and  Prince  John — 
War  and  Politics — Efforts  for  County  Seat. 

THE  following  extract  from  the  New  York  Gazeteer  of  1813 
is  interesting: 
"The  village  of  Dansville  is  pleasantly  situated  on  a 
branch  of  the  Canaseraga  creek,  near  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  town,  thirty-five  miles  northwest  of  Bath. 
Here  is  a  post-office,  a  number  of  mills,  and  a  handsome 
street  of  one  and  one-half  miles  in  length,  occupied  by 
'farm  houses,  etc.  The  valley  embracing  this  settlement 
contains  3,000  acres  of  choice  lands,  and  the  soil  is  warm 
and  productive.  There  is  a  road  from  Bath  to  Dansville 
Village  that  leads  diagonally  across  the  centre  of  this  town 
from  southeast  to  northwest,  and  another  between  Dansville  Village 
and  Ontario  county  leads  across  the  northern  part.  The  population 
is  666,  and  there  are  about  100  taxable  inhabitants. ' ' 

This  quotation  refers  to  the  year  1812,  or  the  seventeenth  year  after 
the  first  settler  arrived. 

Livingston  county  was  formed  from  portions  of  Ontario  and  Gen- 
esee counties  in  1821.  In  1822  the  northwest  quarter  of  townships, 
number  six  in  seventh  range,  then  in  Dansville,  Steuben  county,  was 
annexed  to  Sparta.  This  included  "Dansville  Village"  which  was 
the  post  office  name  previous  to  about  1832,  when  the  name  was 
changed  to  Dansville.  The  town  of  North  Dansville  was  formed 
from  Sparta  in  1846,  and  another  section  of  Sparta  was  added  in  1849, 
but  it  is  now  the  smallest  township  in  the  state  except  one. 

The  most  of  the  first  settlers  were  from  Pennsylvania  and  New 
England,  and  a  number  of  them  were  born  across  the  ocean.  These 
for  several  years  were  nearly  all  of  Scotch,  English,  and  North-of- 
Ireland  Irish  descent.  Then  the  German  immigrants  began  to  come 
direct  from  their  native  land,  and  took  up  lands  along  and  beyond 
Sandy  Hill,  and  not  long  afterward  German  families  began  to  find 
homes  in  the  village.  There  was  hardly  one  among  those  first  set- 
tlers of  mixed  nationalities  who  did  not  belong  to  the  industrious  and 
thrifty  type  of  citizens,  which  is  always  a  fortunate  thing  in  starting 
a  town.  Soon  the  population  of  Dansville  was  increasing  faster  than 
that  of  any  other  village  of  the  county,  and  although  behind  Geneseo 
and  Moscow  in  obtaining  a  village  charter,  was  considerably  more 
populous  than  either  of  them  when  they  were  incorporated.  There 
were  several  reasons  for  this.  While  the  farm  lands  were  as  rich  as 
those  of  any  other  section  of  the  county — a  county  that  produced 
about  one-fifteenth  of  the  wheat  of  the  country  for  several  years,  and 

40 


LATER  EARLY  DAYS 


41 


^lott'^te  rn»n^^K    jr(tf~<^ 


ANCIENT  MAP  SHOWING  THE  POSITION  OF  THE    GENESEO   COUNTRY 
COMPREHENDING   THE   COUNTIES  OF  ONTARIO  AND    STEUBEN  AS    LAID   OFF  IN   TOWNSHIPS   OF 
SIX    MILES   SQUARE    EACH. 

Kefebexces:  a,  Painted  Post ;  B,  Bath  ;  C,  DansvlUe;  D,  Williamsburgh  ;  E,  Geneseo  ;  F,  Hartford  ; 
G,  Athens  ;  H,  Canandarque,  the  county  town  (now  Canandaigua^  ;  I,  Geneva  ;  K,  Lyons  ;  L,  Sodus  ;  M,  Calo- 
donia,  a  Scotch  settlement :  N,  Ganson's  Tavern  ;  O,  Station  on  the  Big  Plains  ;  P,  Hope  Town  ;  (i,  Frederick's 
Inn  :  X,  Town  and  Mills  at  the  falls  of  the  Geneseo  River  (now  Rochester. ) 


ranked  as  the  second  county  in  sheep  husbandry  in  1855  and  1875 — it 
also  had  the  best  water  power  of  the  county  on  three  or  four  streams, 
leading  to  the  quick  establishment  here  of  various  manufactories  and 
the  employment  in  them  of  many  workmen,  and  when  the  Dansville 
branch  of  the  Genesee  Valley  Canal  was  completed  a  vast  lumber  and 
farming  region  on  the  south  became  tributary  to  the  village  as  the 
most  available  shipping  point.  The  growth  was  most  rapid  during 
the  canal  period,  from  1843  to  1853.  In  1824  A.  Bradley  &  Sons  had 
commenced  paper  making  on  the  site  of  the  former  Woodruff  Paper 
Company's  mill  at  the  upper  end  of  Main  street,  and  in  1844,  with 
two  paper  mills  and  a  book-bindery,  they  had  built  up  a  hamlet 
around  them  of  eighteen  dwellings.  Other  mills,  some  of  which  are 
mentioned  in  Chapter  II,  also  employed  many  men,  and  a  consider- 
able number  found  work  on  the  neighboring  farms.  As  early  as  1833 
there  were  fifty-five  saw  mills  within  the  circuit  of  a  few  miles  of 
Dansville,  and  in  1844  the  manufacture  of  lumber  had  increased  enor- 
mously, and  a  number  of  steam  mills  had  been  started.  The  annual 
businessof  the  two  Bradley  paper  mills  then  amounted  to  |1 00,(100,  and 
that  of  the  three  Faulkner,  Porter,  and  Bradner  mills  to  $100,000 
more — $200,000  in  all.  They  paid  in  wages  to  about  200  employes 
$110,000.     The  business  of  other  factories  and  mills  was  $80,000.      In 


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till' Sovii  III  rn  iM-r-^.  \!-.-    ^i.ij-  -  li>n^r  MoiiNt  lljji(e(?  tjSi'iSim'I'i  \  iJIn    I'liii.i;-!: 

*^ml -Vne.hni    •'    ■  ""■        '   ■       ■      ' 


A"  "     'lIiiiiiK  Moiris,  Jii  ,!t     " 

«!,,        riiyk-rnlk-,.       dp  '     fK'    " 
ilii        IMrHrit,  nc'noSoo  I'lLiJinglOi    ''' 

do  .     Vorjfc?                 d-i  II-."; 

^itcnKii-piirl,      du  1 1;    ■' 

■    oi,  l,iioU.ing,.].  l.i;P,.ll, 

nnd  (vrl^ul  rtocficKlcrut,  ■'» 


tj     "'         du    ■  ..Avoii''»ii 
T     ;.     \    do     ■  JcM  .^d 


I  OF  Pi 
A. 


LIGHT  FRIIG^  CARRIED. 

^axsuifc  ajiplj  iMkpc  Piipk'tf  Bpal  (tffiff,  K»c.hj!)i((*i'i, 


PACKET     BOAT    TIME     TABLE 


U-.W^Wil^^,  ». 


SCENE    ON    CANAL    AT    CUMMINSVILLE 


LATER  EARLY  DAYS 


43 


1833  the  paper  mills  employed  only  eighty-four  persons.  The  clover 
mill  that  year  prepared  1,500  bushels  of  clover  seed  for  the  market. 

Packet  boats  for  passengers  were  run  with  great  regularity  as  the 
best  means  of  transportation  and  were  largely  patronized.  Copy  of 
an  old  time  table  indicates  landings  and  connections,  also  speed. 

Some  of  the  shipments  by  canal  in  1844  were  as  follows :  Boards 
and  shingles,  5,633,460  feet,  valued  at  $44,979;  shingles,  6,810,308 
feet,  valued  at  $13,620;  timber,  41,124  feet,  valued  at  $2,467;  staves, 
586,899,  valued  at  $6,869;  potash,  819  barrels,  valued  at  $16,380; 
butter  and  lard,  55,875  pounds,  valued  at  $4,470;  cheese,  125,080 
pounds,  valued  at  $6, 254;  wool, 95, 673  pounds,  valued  at  $28,702;  flour, 
5,103  barrels,  valued  at  $20,412;  paper  and  sundries,  323,141  pounds, 
valued  at  $64,625.  Total  value  of  these  and  other  products  shipped 
about  $250,000.  The  canal  tolls  of  this  second  year  of  the  canal 
amounted  to  $8,383,  being  an  increase  over  the  previous  year  of 
$2,156.  The  amount  of  property  brought  to  the  village  greatly  ex- 
■ceeded  the  amount  shipped.  In  1850  the  number  of  tons  shipped  was 
34,193,  valued  at  $665,469,  and  the  tolls  amounted  to  $28,400.  The 
value  of  articles  received  was  $1,287,166. 


??7T- 


^^fM 


?-:& 


-,  -.ST-/-  - 


-<^^ 


^it 


P#-:tfinja, 


HM  ii.t.ii)! 


I  15  16 

MAIN   STREET,    EAST  SIDE,   DANSVILLE.    1830 

FP.OM     PEN'SKETCK     BY    II.   C.   SEDGWICK 


1  Joshua  Hheparii  Store 

li  Gpo.  Hvland's  IJiitSliop  I 

.3  Holirii'S'  IliiriiessShop      -  railed  the  Three  sistiTS 

4  Haflli'i-sTiiiJcirShop  ) 

.=>  R.  Dav.  oflicc  and  Residence 

n  W.  F. 'Clark  Slori' 

7  Babcock  Drug  Store 

K  Wilson  Teasdale,  Watch  Shop  aiHlTeiM'mi'iit  House 

9  Mrs.  Rowley,  Residence 


10  s.  w.  Smith  Residence 

11  Smith  atirt  Melvin  Store 

Vi  Archway  Leading  to  Potashery 
18  w.  Hunt.  Grocery  and  Harness  Shop 

14  S.  Hunt  Residence 

15  o.  D.  Stacy,  Tavern  and  Residence 

1(1  J.  0.  Sedgwick,  Tailor  Shop  and  Residence 

17  .T.  C.  Sedgwick,  Tenant  House 

18  Davis  Orchard 


44 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


Dansville  had  about  eighty  structures  in  1830,  including  three 
stores,  four  taverns,  two  potasheries,  paper  mills,  grist  mills,  etc. 
In  1844  the  buildings  had  increased  to  450,  with  twenty-eight  retail 
stores,  twenty  shops,  three  taverns,  one  book  bindery,  two  printing 
offices,  one  bank,  and  fifteen  offices  for  the  professions.  The  cost  of 
the  whole  was  variously  estimated  to  be  from  $250,000  to  $300,000. 

In  1830  the  Dansville  fences  were  nearly  all  rail  fences,  and  the 
only  residents  on  South  street  were  James  Faulkner  and  W.  Dorry, 
on  Ferine  street  William  Ferine,  and  on  Ossian  street  Conrad  Welch. 

The  old  academy   building, 


FUIDAY  EVEKIAG  MARCH  lOil,. 

Commencing  nl  G  o'dSch, 


1.  Prayer. 


liUU „,„,.„, 

\  ull  lo  .  M«  C^iliinnl r. 1)  S.  !>!.;,, 

E^tf.t'  rrOBT  SB  tnalum  Jsli.rff  J  In  Bwfjr K    Unnnar 

Utrl^Hlvuiuf MOpwvleow.-t.'...  "....,  C   [I  MK»., 

Hf.  l'iHiS)«p=l'  in  atf-aMkm  Uii.e<A  i-mS.Ui,  . ,  ,J.  llcCunl^, 

lUtnrl  fmfti  .iicth  UtJ'llrlKk  llmij -.  ,.  W.  F.  Clifk 

H.  T-IH. 


rnWpirwvTxviiss. 


aliTtiT ,. 

Tii«  VVorVf  sfKilinr 

Prn'rak-not  public '/ulo  .... 


Iw  Anu-ln  r.irwii.  Grevulanrii 
'    Morij  r.ill»|iir,  VfAtt: 

■    Kvry  SmihooHb,  ]>uinilli- 
UiuUlb  L<H-..Un,    Ml!...!!.! 
'     GliEO  •A.  llwiM,  Uiuldllo 


Mime  JUtprnateUi. , 

<  .DECLAMATIOJV. 


rb(Ch>nct'ri>rilaiirui^HR  .. 


. . . .  S,  P,  Btrnda,  DaiiMlUa 

...J  £Ii»uK'-ii>  DuutIUi 
...    0,  \L  .VmiL,      " 
....A.FauIkur,      " 


CO."ITEOVERSY. 

(Jfl([iin1,-  '   i l.Uajn.SiiAbj  "" 

,An  Adilru.  \a  ^rfDan  Youlb         D.  Jl/.  YOuiib.  Lltoiili 

AlaniufiJiil'TlinM.'-OriijtB*! .*.FiilI«r(Dn,  .ViMrt*     - 


\ 


SO  long  used  for  a  district 
school,  was  built  in  1836,  and 
there  the  older  boys  and  girls 
of  those  days  received  instruc- 
tion in  advanced  studies,  in  its 
first  years  from  Prof.  J.  Lyman 
Crocker  as  principal.  Prof.  Ful- 
ler as  assistant,  and  Miss  Niles 
as  preceptress.  Their  more  el- 
ementary education  was  ob- 
tained at  the  little  school-house 
close  by,  which  was  built  be- 
fore the  academy,  and  about 
1821.  In  1882  the  late  Henry 
C.  Sedgwick,  of  numerous  rem- 
iniscences, remembered  as  sur- 
viving early  pupils  William 
McCurdy,  John  McCurdy,  J.  J. 
Welch,  Hugh  McCartney,  Al- 
onzo  Bradner,  G.  R.  Smith, 
H.  A.  Sprague,  Calvin  Fens- 
termacher,  B.  W.  Woodruff, 
H.  B.  Opp,  Mrs.  Alex.  Ed- 
wards, and  Mrs.  Matthew  Mc- 
Nair.  It  was  the  time,  Mr. 
Sedgwick  said,  of  Daboll's 
arithmetic.  Brown's  grammar, 
Webster's  spelling  book,  and 
the  English  reader.  The  little  schoolhouse  was  moved  about  half  a 
mile  from  its  former  position,  and  is  now  a  dwelling  almost  opposite 
the  barn  of  Brightside  on  Williams  street,  and  the  academy  building 
was  moved  across  the  square  and  became  William  H.  Dick's  shoe 
factory. 

O.  D.  Stacy's  tavern,  which  began  to  receive  comers  to  Dansville 
in  1822,  had  the  distinction  of  entertaining  in  1832  two  among  the 
most  remarkable  men  which  New  York  state  has  produced.  They 
were  Martin  VanBuren,  then  ex-governor  and  afterward  vice-presi- 
dent and  president  of  the  United  States,  and  his  son  John,  known  as 
"Prince  John"  because  he  danced  with  Queen  Victoria  more  than 
once,  and  is  reputed  to  have  nearly  won  her  heart — a  man  of  infinite 
humor  and  a  delightful  and  persuasive  orator.  Martin  VanBuren  had 
been  employed  by  Amariah  Hammond  as  agent,  to  look  after  the  legal 


America,  A.  Bradner,  DaHsville 

'Centennial  Address,  -•"*  H.  Sjirnguc,  DnnsvHji 
'  KHODERIC  DHUE  AND  FIT2:' JAMES. 
On  Kio'riuenbc,  E.  IHy'air  Burns. 


A  DANSVILLE  ACADEMY  PROGRAM  OF  1837 


LA  TER  EARL  Y  DA  YS  45 

interests  of  certain  settlers  who  had  purchased  lands  of  the  Pulteney 
estate,  the  titles  to  which  had  been  imperiled  by  a  decision  in  the 
Court  of  Errors,  and  was  appealed  from  and  carried  up  to  the  C(jurt 
of  Chancery.  He  had  managed  their  case  with  great  ability  and  tact, 
and  won,  and  the  settlers  were  thereafter  his  grateful  admirers.  Land- 
lord Stacy,  whose  tavern  received  the  two  great  men,  established  the 
first  stage  line  between  Dansville  and  Hornellsville.  Rowley's  tavern 
was  famous  for  good  cookery  in  the  early  days,  and  the  landlord  once 
entertained  the  famous  Indian  chiefs.  Red  Jacket  and  Tall  Chief. 
Another  old  and  popular  tavern  was  kept  by  Lester  Kingsbury  and 
G.  C.  Taylor.  This  was  on  the  site  of  the  Hyland  house,  and  Row- 
ley's and  Stacy's  taverns  were  farther  up  Main  street. 

Those  and  later  years  were  the  years  of  general  trainings,  with  tall 
hats,  cockades,  white  breeches  and  silver  lace,  and  for  marching  music 
the  screams  of  fifes  and  din  of  drums.  Gen.  J.  Albert  Granger  of 
Canandaigua  was  the  first  reviewing  officer,  serving  many  years  in  that 
capacity.  He  was  succeeded  by  William  S.  Fullerton  of  Sparta.  The 
thorough  drill  master  was  Captain  Isaac  W.  Drake,  and  his  successor 
was  Captain  James  H.  Parker.  When  the  Patriot  war  began  in  Can- 
ada, some  of  the  militiamen's  bosoms  swelled  large  with  the  spirit  of 
'76,  and  they  talked  of  going  over  to  fight  for  the  cause  of  the  rebels, 
but  the  uprising  was  quickly  put  down  and  their  belligerency  oozed 
away  with  the  lost  cause. 

Party  spirit  ran  high  during  the  Tippecanoe  campaign  of  1840.  Two 
log  cabins  were  erected  here  by  the  Whigs,  and  guards  placed  in  them 
to  defend  their  ash  flag  poles  against  Democratic  axes.  Discussion 
waxed  hot  on  the  street  corners  and  in  the  stores  and  taverns,  occa- 
sionally ending  in  blows  and  bloody  noses. 

Twice  there  have  been  prospects  that  Dansville  would  become  the 
capital  of  a  new  county.  In  1830  a  movement  was  started  in  Alle- 
gany county  to  erect  a  new  county  out  of  portions  of  Allegany,  Gene- 
see, and  "so  much  of  Livingston  county  as  would  lie  south  of  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  north  line  of  the  town  of  Sparta  to  the  Genesee  river.  " 
The  plan  was  popular  in  Allegany  county,  and  pushed  with  persistent 
determination,  and  as  Dansville  had  been  selected  as  the  future  shire 
village,  she  was  entirely  willing  that  the  movement  should  be  a  suc- 
cess. The  most  bitter  opposition  came  from  Mt.  Morris,  which  was 
somewhat  inclined  to  be  jealous  of  faster-growing  Dansville,  and 
meetings  were  held  there  to  denounce  and  resolve  against  the  proposed 
carving  process  for  a  new  county.  The  opposition  prevailed,  and  no 
similar  effort  was  made  until  1853,  when  it  was  proposed  to  form  a 
new  county  from  Livingston,  Steuben  and  Allegany,  with  Dansville 
as  the  county  seat.  The  part  to  be  subtracted  from  Livingston  con- 
sisted of  the  towns  of  Springwater,  Sparta,  Dansville,  West  Sparta, 
Nunda  and  Portage.  Again  there  was  opposition,  and  again  Dans- 
ville was  agreeable.  But  the  legislature  could  not  be  induced  to  pass 
the  necessary  bill,  and  Dansville  remains  without  county  buildings 
and  the  mild  excitements  of  court  and  supervisors'  proceedings. 


CHAPTER  IV 
TKird  Quarter   of   Century 

From  Canal  to  Railroad — Wayland  the  Nearest  Station — ^Dansville  Seminary 
— Protection  Against  Fire — Business  Men  of  1850 — ^The  Civil  War  and 
Dansville's  Prompt  Response — Later  War  Meetings  and  Bounties  Paid 
— The  Draft — The  Hyland  House  and  Maxwell  Block.  • 

THE  most  prosperous  period  for  Dansville  was  the  canal 
period,  that  is,  the  ten  years  between  1842  and  1852,  or 
the  year  of  the  completion  of  the  Dansville  branch  of  the 
Genesee  Valley  canal  and  that  of  the  completion  of  the 
Erie  railroad  to  Dunkirk.  In  another  chapter  some  ac- 
count is  given  of  the  business  boom  during  that  decade. 
The  new  railroad  facilities  afforded  by  the  Erie  imme- 
diately turned  the  shipment  of  the  lumber  and  other  pro- 
ducts of  Allegany  and  Steuben  counties  from  Dansville  to 
the  Erie  stations  on  the  south,  and  the  rapid  growth  of 
Dansville  was  at  an  end.  Between  1845  and  1850  its  pop- 
ulation had  increased  from  2213  to  4090,  or  nearly  100  per  cent  in  five 
years.  The  hotels  and  stores  had  been,  and  for  three  years  more  con- 
tinued to  be,  so  busy  that  they  could  hardly  take  care  of  all  their 
customers.  Rents  increased  and  houses  could  not  be  built  fast  enough 
for  the  incoming  families.  The  surrounding  farmers  sold  their  pro- 
duce readily  at  satisfactory  prices,  and  sowed  and  planted  more  land 
from  year  to  year.  The  people  went  to  and  fro  with  smiling  faces  in 
the  fond  belief  that  the  prosperity  would  continue,  not  giving  much 
thought  to  the  diverting  power  of  railroads.  Their  eyes  were  opened 
quickly,  and  their  castles  in  the  air  vanished.  And  then  they  began 
to  yearn  for  a  railroad  of  their  own,  and  renewed  the  agitation  for  one 
of  twenty  years  before.  Meetings  were  held,  convincing  speeches 
made,  and  confidence  expressed,  but  no  railroad  was  completed  to  our 
corporation  lines  until  December,   1871. 

In  April,  1852,  the  Buffalo,  Corning,  and  New  York  railroad,  now 
a  branch  of  the  Erie,  was  opened  from  Corning  as  far  as  Wayland, 
and  from  that  time  until  the  opening  of  the  Dansville  and  Mt.  Morris 
railroad  Wayland  was  the  nearest  railroad  station  to  Dansville,  and 
all  our  railroad  business  was  to  and  from  that  point.  Dansville's 
canal  business  was  very  large,  but  soon  began  to  diminish  on  account 
of  the  extension  of  the  main  branch  of  the  Erie,  and  after  the  railroad 
connection  of  Wayland  with  Rochester  and  Buffalo,  the  traffic  between 
Dansville  and  Wayland  with  teams  was  heavy  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  and  the  stage  lines  did  a  thriving  business.  George  Hyland  and 
John  Hess  started  a  movement  for  a  plank  road,  and  it  was  built  and 
leased  for  thirty  years,  and  paid  eight  per  cent  on  the  stock. 

It  was  in  1850,  during  the  prosperous  decade,  that  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Dansville  was  formed,  the  objects  of  which 
were  stated  to  be  "a  reading  room  and  library,  public  debate,  ad- 
dresses by  members  and  lectures  by  distinguished  men  from  abroad. ' ' 
The  president  was  Charles  Shepard,  the  vice-presidents  were  S.  Sweet, 

46 


THIRD  QUARTER  OF  CENTURY 


47 


A.  J.  Abbott  and  C.  R.  Kern,  the  secretary  D.  W.  Noyes,  the  treas- 
urer John  Hartman,  and  the  librarian  H.  B.  Whiten.  No  records 
have  been  found  to  indicate  that  the  association  realized  its  ambitious 
hopes  or  continued  long  in  existence. 

The  disastrous  effects  of  the  great  fires  of  1854  and  1S5')  made  more 
serious  the  setback  of  transportation  diversions,  and  it  took  a  long 
time  to  fill  with  other  buildings  the  spaces  made  vacant  by  them. 

The  old  academy  on  the  square  had  become  a  district  school  house 
when,  in  1858,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Genesee  Confer- 
ence, a  seminary  school  was  started  in  town,  and  a  movement  made 
to  build  the  brick  seminary  structure  on  the  hillside,  which  was  so 
far  completed  as  to  be  occupied  in  January,  18(>U.  The  first  annual 
catalogue,  published  the  previous  year,  shows  an  attendance  of  ninety- 
eight  male  and  113  female  pupils.      The  faculty  were:   Principal,  Rev. 


PEN    SKETCH    Or    DANSVILLE    SEMINARY    IN    I860 


Schuyler  Seager,  D.  D. ,  who  was  professor  of  moral  philosphy  and 
belles  lettres ;  Professor  of  Mathematics,  Charles  C.  Wheeler,  A.  B.  ; 
Professor  of  Natural  Science,  Rev.  John  J.  Brown;  Preceptresses, 
Mrs.  Marietta  A.  Wheeler,  and  Miss  Helen  M.  Budlong;  teacher  of 
instrumental  music.  Miss  Milancie  Leach;  teacher  of  drawing  and 
painting,  Miss  Emma  C.  Hubbard,  The  of^cers  of  the  board  of 
trustees  were:  President,  Rev.  A.  C.  George;  secretary,  Hon.  I.  L. 
Endress;  treasurer,  B.  L.  Hovey,  M.  D.  Later  principals  of  the 
seminary  were  Rev.  John  J.  Brown,  Joseph  Jones,  Rev.  Mr.  Crumb, 
Henry  R.  Sanford,  Albert  Lewis,  J.  E.  Foley,  W.  H.  Truesdale 
Samuel  H.  Goodyear,  J.  B.  Hubbell,  and  Mrs.  Susan  George  Jones. 


48  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Many  of  the  present  citizens  of  Dansville,  and  many  more  who  have 
died  or  gone  elsewhere,  received  their  higher  education  in  that  brick 
building  of  picturesque  background  and  extended  outlook,  and  there 
not  a, few  of  them  distinguished  themselves  at  examinations  and  an- 
niversary exercises.  In  the  long  delay  to  secure  a  good  Union  school 
for  the  village  it  was  of  incalculable  value  to  the  larger  boys  and  girls 
as  a  source  of  instruction  and  a  nursery  of  laudable  ambitions. 

Although  in  1846  the  village  trustees  voted  to  raise  $800  by  tax  to 
purchase  a  fire  engine,  hose,  hooks,  and  ladders,  dig  cisterns  and 
reservoirs  and  provide  pumps,  when  the  great  fire  of  1854  came  and 
the  two  great  fires  of  1859,  it  was  the  lack  of  means  for  coping  with 
them  which  made  them  so  disastrous. 

Engine  Company  No.  1,  was  organized  in  1846,  and  in  1857,  three 
years  after  the  fire  of  1854,  Phoenix  Fire  Company  No.  1  was  organ- 
ized. The  next  company  was  Canaseraga  Engine  Company  organ- 
ized in  1863,  and  the  next  Genesee  Fire  Company  No.  3,  organized 
in  1864.     The  great  fires  and  an  occasional  small  one  finally  aroused 


LAYING   PIPES    FOR   DANSVILLE'S   FIRST  WATER  WORKS 

the  business  men  of  the  village  to  a  sense  of  their  danger  from  lack 
of  water,  suitable  fire  apparatus  and  an  efificient  fire  department. 
The  first  need  was  water,  and  to  obtain  this,  agitation  began  in  1872 
and  was  continued  in  varying  keys — there  being  strong  opposition — 
until  on  July  22,  1873,  the  tax-payers,  by  a  vote  of  156  for,  to  112 
against,  voted  that  water  works  for  fire  purposes  should  be  built. 
These  consisted  of  banded  wood  pipes  down  Main  street,  from  Little 
Mill  creek  near  the  California  house,  with  branches  on  side  streets, 
east  and  west.  The  fall  was  sufficient  to  produce  powerful  streams 
over  any  building  within  hose  reach  of  a  hydrant,  and  the  spirit  of  or- 
ganization for   an    efficient  fire    department  became    active. 

Dansville's  water  works   were    completed,    after   a   long    and    hard 
fight,  in  November,  1873,     A  large  faction  under   the    lead   of   influ- 


THIRD  QUARTER  OF  CENTURY  49 

ential  men  had  opposed  them  and  put  every  possible  obstruction  in 
the  way  of  their  construction.  J.  C.  Whitehead  was  then  president 
of  the  village,  and  perhaps  the  chief  credit  for  the  authority  and 
means  which  brought  them  to  a  successful  completion  should  be  ac- 
corded to  him,  because  of  the  firmness  and  persistence  which  he  exer- 
cised in  his  official  position.  The  first  public  test  was  made  on 
November  2(1,  1873,  at  the  corners  of  Main  and  Ossian  streets,  when 
streams  were  sent  a  horizontal  distance  of  156  feet.  At  last,  after 
three-quarters  of  a  century,  Dansville  had  the  water  and  power  in  pipes 
along  its  streets  with  which  fire  could  be  successfully  fought,  and 
the  fear  of  such  calamities  as  the  conflagrations  of  1854  and  1859  was 
at  an  end.  This  feeling  of  serenity  was  increased  when  in  the  follow- 
ing June  Union  Hose  company,  with  its  membership  of  prominent 
and  athletic  young  men,  was  organized  provided  with  cart  and  plenty 
of  good  hose,  and  officered  as  follows:  Foreman,  Col.  George  Hyland; 
assistant  foreman,  Maj.  J.  J.  Bailey,  president,  George  A.  Sweet; 
vice  president,  Thomas  E.  Gallagher;  secretary,  LeGrand  Snyder, 
treasurer,  Frank  Dyer. 

A  list  of  some  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Dansville  in  1850  has 
been  obtained  from  advertisements  in  copies  of  the  Dansville  Herald 
of  that  year.  They  are:  Hubbard  &  Bulkley,  Fraser  &  Abbott,  Har- 
wood  &  Wilkinson,  lawyers;  G.  P.  Reynale  &  Co.,  hardware;  Farley 
&  Bristol,  dentists;  Orville  Tousey,  justice  of  the  peace;  John  Betts, 
boots  and  shoes;  C.  D.  Henning  &  Co.,  hats  and  caps:  E.  Niles, 
drugs;  E.  S.  Palmes,  tailor  and  ready  made  clothing;  J.  V  &  M. 
Taft,  grocers;  R.  S.  Faulkner,  dry  goods  and  groceries;  S.  Brockway, 
ready  made  clothing;  D.  J.  Wood,  boots  and  shoes;  Sprague,  Losey 
&Co.,  booksellers  and  stationers;  F.  Altmeyer  &  Co.,  looking  glasses, 
picture  frames  and  mouldings;  H.  S.  &  J.  Lord,  dry  goods  and  gro- 
ceries; T.  S.  Ripley,  M,  D.,  physician  and  surgeon;  F.  &  ]\I.  Gilman, 
stoves,  grindstones,  and  pumps;  Barna  J.  Chapin,  crockery  and  in- 
surance; Foote  &  Maxwell,  forwarding;  E.  C.  Daugherty  &  Co., 
publishers  of  the  Herald,  book  and  job  printing;  C.  G.  Wetmore  & 
Co.,  drugs;  J.  Brittan  &  Co.,  general  store ;  George  Brown,  groceries; 
Richard  Young,  sash,  blinds  and  doors;  C.  E.  Clark,  harness  work; 
A.  &  J.  Outterson,  paper  mill;  Sweet  &  Co.,  manufacturers;  Wm. 
Welch,  John  C.  Williams,  and  William  Foote  &  Co. ,  canal  freights. 

Passing  into  the  decade  of  the  sixties,  the  exciting  political  cam- 
paign which  elected  Abraham  Lincoln  President,  and  the  ominous 
war  cloud  which  arose  immediately  afterward  are  recalled.  The  peo- 
ple of  Dansville  bestirred  themselves,  and  their  patriotism  burned 
with  an  increasing  heat.  A  great  war  meeting  was  held  April  20, 
1861,  at  which  stirring  speeches  were  made,  $1,972  was  subscribed 
to  assist  needy  families  of  men  who  might  volunteer,  and  the  follow- 
ing committee  was  selected  to  distribute  all  such  moneys:  Charles 
Shepard,  James  Faulkner,  Sidney  Sweet,  J.  C.  Jackson,  I.  L.  Endress, 
A.  Lozier  and  A.  Bradner.  Carl  Stephan  issued  a  call  for  volunteers, 
and  within  three  days  had  the  names  of  sixty-three  men  on  his  roll. 
These  officers  were  chosen :  Captain,  Carl  Stephan ;  first  lieutenant, 
George  Hyland,  Jr.;  ensign,  Ralph  T.  Wood;  sergeants,  Henry  R. 
Curtis,  George  W.  Hasler,  Mark  J.  Bunnell,  Duane  D.  Stillwell ; 
corporals,  George  B.  Dippy,  George  M.  Morris,  William  H.  Drehmer, 


50 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


A.  J.  Hartman.  In  another  list  the  names  of  E.  G.  Richardson  and 
George  M.  Morrison  appear  as  corporals.  This  first  company  went  to 
Elmira  May  3,  and  became  Company  B,  of  the  13th  regiment.  In  the 
fall  of  1861  Ralph  T.  Wood  recruited  a  second  company  here  which  be- 
came Company  G,  of  the  13th.   In  November  Job  C.  Hedges  and  Albert 


DANSVILLE.   SOLDIERS'   MONUMENT 

S.  Lema,  both  of  Dansville,  commenced  recruiting  another  company 
for  the  same  regiment,  and  eighty  men  were  enrolled  by  December  26, 
some  of  them  in  Rochester,  and  started  for  the  seat  of  war  January  6, 
1862.  This  made  three  Dansville  companies  in  the  13th,  and  added 
to  these  was  the  Dansville  band,  which  joined  it  in  Elmira  May  20, 
1861.  The  13th  was  the  first  after  the  6th  Massachusetts  to  pass 
through  Baltimore,  and  participated    in   the   following  battles:     Cub 


THIRD  QUARTER  OF  C/LYTURV  51 

Run,  Bull  Run,  Yorktown,  Hanover  Court  House,  Mechanicsville, 
Gaines  Mill,  Malvern  Hill,  Manassas,  Stephentown,  Antietam  and 
Fredericksburgh.  July  2  President  Lincoln  issued  a  call  for  300,- 
000  more  men,  and  another  August  4  for  a  like  number  of  militia 
for  nine  months.  A  war  meeting  was  held  in  Dansville  July  30  at 
which  several  men  enlisted,  and  another  followed  August  2,  when 
there  were  several  more  enlistments  and  $587  was  subscribed  to  pay 
bounties  to  the  volunteers.  When  the  third  meeting  was  held,  August 
5,  the  subscriptions  amounted  to  $1030.50,  and  twenty  more  volun- 
teers were  enrolled,  all  of  whom  received  offered  bounties  from  citi- 
zens present.  The  recruiting  officer  was  Andrew  J.  Leach,  and  his 
company  left  for  the  military  camp  at  Portage  August  18.  Adjutant 
Job  C.  Hedges  of  the  13th  regiment  came  from  the  front  August  14 
to  recruit  a  company,  and  to  help  him  a  meeting  was  held  August  19. 
Lester  B.  Faulkner  and  E.  H.  Pratt  went  to  work  with  Adjutant 
Hedges,  and  under  the  stimulus  of  bounties  the  company  was  filled  in 
eight  days,  and  August  30  was  mustered  in  as  Company  B,  of  the 
136th  regiment.  James  Wood,  Jr.,  of  Geneseo  was  colonel  of  this  regi- 
ment and  Lester  B.  Faulkner  lieutenant  colonel,  and  the  officers  of 
Company  B,  were:  Captain,  E.  H.  Pratt;  first  lieutenant,  John  J. 
Bailey;  second  lieutenant,  Nicholas  V.  Mundy.  The  men  enlisted 
by  Capt.  Leach  became  Company  K,  of  the  130th  regiment,  and  the 
officers  were:  Captain,  Andrew  J.  Leach;  first  lieutenant,  James  C). 
Slay  ton ;  second  lieutenant,  Edmund  Hartman.  Of  course  there  were 
many  changes  in  and  promotions  in  and  from  all  the  Dansville  com- 
panies as  the  war  went  on.  In  November,  1863,  Mark  J.  Bunnell 
was  appointed  recruiting  officer  at  Dansville,  but  later  being  made  a 
captain  in  the  the  Invalid  Corps,  S.  G.  Dorr,  Jr.,  took  his  place.  In 
early  February  the  Dansville  quota  was  filled,  and  a  town  bounty  of 
$300  paid  to  each  of  twenty-seven  men.  At  a  special  town  meeting 
held  Sept.  15,  1864,  it  was  decided  to  raise  by  tax  a  bounty  of  $600 
for  each  volunteer,  or  substitute,  or  the  family  of  a  drafted  man,  up  to 
the  number  required  to  fill  the  town's  quota  under  the  last  call  for  500,- 
000  men.  Another  town  meeting  Sept.  23  resolved  to  add  $200  to 
the  $600  bounty.  Other  public  meetings  were  held  and  within  three 
weeks  the  town's  quota  was  full.  On  March  7,  1865,  a  meeting  was 
held  at  which  it  was  voted  to  raise  $3,400  to  pay  bounties,  and  there 
were  a  few  volunteers,  but  the  ordered  draft  came  off  just  before  Lee's 
surrender,  and  forty-eight  names  were  drawn.  North  Dansville's 
quota  under  the  draft  of  1862  was  116,  and  122  volunteers  reported. 
The  number  drafted  from  North  Dansville  in  July,  1863,  was  110  and 
the  number  exempted  ninety-four,  but  many  of  the  exempts  paid 
the  commutation  of  $300  each.  Under  the  call  of  October,  1863, 
North  Dansville's  substitutes  were  three  and  commutations  eleven. 

The  well-drilled  and  much-admired  Canaseragas  had  mostly  gone  to 
the  war  when  in  April,  1862,  the  Washington  Zouaves  were  organized 
as  a  local  company  with  the  following  officers  and  privates:  Captain, 
Charles  Reeve ;  lieutenant,  Henry  Faulkner;  ensign,  Theo.  Chapin; 
1st  sergeant,  Wm.  Bulkley;  2d  sergeant,  James  Williams;  privates, 
James  Edwards,  Wm.  Knowlton,  Charles  Niles,  Henry  Porter,  Ed- 
ward Readshaw,  Edward  Sweet,  Eugene  Sprague,  Percy  Jones, 
James  Lindsay,  Edward  Niles,  Jr.,  Wm.  Readshaw,  Charles  Shepard, 


52 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


Wm.  Spinning,  Rockwell  Lozier,  John  Wilkinson.  How  long  this 
promising  military  organization  continued  is  not  on  record.  When 
the  war  closed  the  military  spirit  which  it  had  excited  perceptibly 
diminished  in  a  short  time.  The  returned  soldiers  devoted  themselves 
to  the  arts  of  peace.  Money  was  plenty  and  prices  high,  new  indus- 
tries were  started  and  neglected  old  ones  revived ;  every  able-bodied 
man  could  get  work  at  good  wages,  and  from  1865  to  Black  Friday  the 
country  prospered  as  it  never  had  before. 


HYLAND  HOUSE 


On  April  23,  1874,  the  new  Hyland  house  was  opened,  and  the 
finest  hotel  in  this  and  several  neighboring  counties  began  to  receive 
the  traveling  public.  The  opening  was  celebrated  with  a  splendid 
banquet,  music  and  addresses,  and  invited  guests  were  present  from 
New  York,  Syracuse,  Rochester  and  several  country  towns.  The  first 
landlord  was  Charles  P.  Howe,  and  the  present  popular  landlord  is 
John  King.  The  Hyland  house  and  the  Maxwell  block  were  the  most 
important  building  improvements  on  Main  street  near  the  close  of 
the  third  quarter  century,  and  are  still  the  largest  business  buildings 
in  Dansville.  Without  the  water  works  they  would  have  been  haz- 
ardous financial  experiments,  but  with  them  they  have  proved  to  be 
profitable  investments. 


CHAPTER  V 
THe  Last  Quarter  of  tKe  Centtiry 

The  Bank  Failures — Followed  by  Improved  Conditions — Dansville's  Cele- 
bration of  the  Nation's  Centennial — A  Circulating  Library — Floods  and 
Storms — Winged  Ants — From  District  Schools  to  Union  School  and  a 
Fine  New  Building — The  Village  Improvement  Society  and  Its  Im- 
portant   Work. 

THE  last  twenty-five  years  of  the  19tli  century  was  one  of 
disturbing  lessons  which  have,  on  the  whole,  been  bene- 
ficial to  Dansville,  and  healthy  progress  in  these  latest 
years  is  increasingly  apparent.  With  two  very  depressing 
bank  failures  which  depleted  many  incomes  and  e.xhatisted 
the  savings  of  a  considerable  number  of  depositors,  there 
was  an  exhibition  of  grit  and  elasticity  that  were  inspirit- 
ing. In  the  last  of  those  failures  the  most  of  the  money 
which  had  been  raised  for  a  Union  school  building  was 
sunk,  but  more  was  forthcoming  and  the  construction  was 
not  delayed.  Two  other  banks,  on  solid  financial  founda- 
tions, with  managers  in  whom  the  people  have  confidence,  have  taken 
the  place  of  the  defunct  ones;  the  Union  school,  with  a  course  which 
prepares  pupils  for  college,  is  one  of  the  best;  electric  lights  have 
come  in;  new  water  works  providing  a  supply  of  excellent  water  for 
domestic  as  well  as  fire  purposes,  and  with  sufficient  fall  to  throw 
streams  over  the  hillside  Sanatorium,  are  a  source  of  many  satisfac- 
tions; Main  street  has  been  macadamized;  cement  sidewalks  and 
brick  crosswalks  have  been  substituted  for  the  old  board  and 
broken  stone  walks;  the  parks  have  been  improved,  and  the  old  eye- 
sores on  the  Central  park  removed ;  two  new  brick  churches,  five  or 
six  fine  business  buildings,  and  many  handsome  dwellings  have  been 
erected ;  one  of  the  most  flourishing  publishing  houses  outside  the 
large  cities  has  been  established;  a  new  trunk  line  railroad  ribbons 
the  hillside  and  affords  first-class  transportation  facilities  east  and 
west ;  a  trolley  road  (or  two)  to  Rochester  in  the  near  future  seems 
to  be  a  foregone  conclusion;  our  nursery  business  has  developed  into 
a  great  industry,  making  the  town  one  of  the  principal  centers  of  the 
country  for  nursery  stock ;  tradesmen  are  prosperous  and  social  and 
moral  conditions  have  improved.  It  is  noticeable,  also,  that  the 
scenic,  social,  and  other  attractions  of  Dansville  are  making  it  more 
and  more  a  summer  resort  of  people  from  a  distance. 

One  of  the  first  great  events  of  the  last  quarter-century  was  the 
celebration  throughout  the  country  of  the  nation's  centennial  on  July 
4,  1876.  Dansville  participated  with  enthusiasm.  There  was  a  great 
parade,  and  the  Dansville,  Mt.  Morris  and  Avon  fire  departments 
were  a  part  of  it.  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson  was  grand  marshal.  Judge 
John  A.  Vanderlip  was  president  of  the  day,  and  Hon.  Jerry  Maguire 
was  the  orator. 

53 


LAST  OL'ARTER  OF  CliNTURY 


55 


The  circulating  library  of  the  private  Library  Association  had  been 
distributing-  good  books  to  many  patrons  for  nearly  a  year,  when  in 
April,  1875,  a  public  spelling  match  in  which  many  prominent  citi- 
zens participated,  considerably  increased  its  funds.  The  library  grew 
steadily,  and  its  value  as  an  educator  became  apparent  in  the  avidity 
with  which  its  books  were  drawn  and  read  by  all  classes. 


DANSVILLE   LIBRARY   INTERIOR 


In  the  first  years  of  the  quarter  century  there  were  some  note- 
worthy storms  and  floods,  but  only  one  that  did  much  damage. 
There  had  been  a  flood  in  April,  1873,  which  carried  away  the  Read- 
shaw,  Angell  and  Hyland  dams,  and  did  much  damage  on  Stony 
Brook  and  down  the  valley.  On  March  14,  1877,  there  was  a  similar 
but  less  damaging  flood.  Some  of  the  back  streets  became  creeks, 
and  eighty  rods  of  railroad  track  two  miles  from  the  village  were  washed 
away.  August  12,  1877,  a  hail  storm  about  a  mile  wide  started  in 
Nunda  and  crossed  Ossian  to  South  Dansville.  Trees  and  corn  were 
stripped  of  their  leaves,  gardens  were  ruined,  and  some  sowed  crops 
were  nearly  destroyed.  On  some  farms  the  hail  stones  lay  four  inches 
deep,  and  some  of  them  were,  as  large  as  hens'  eggs.  A  hurricane 
was  in  the  storm  and  tore  up  several  trees.  The  estimated  damage 
was  $20,000.  Twelve  days  later  a  tornado  visited  Dansville  which 
broke  down  trees,  twisted  off  branches,  toppled  over  chimneys  and 
sent  boards  and  sticks  flying  through  the  air.  Other  surprising 
natural  phenomena  were  visitations  of  winged  ants  in  1878  and  1879, 
both  years  on  August  28.  There  had  been  a  like  visitation  in  Sep- 
tember, 1874,  which  was  the  first  appearance  of  the  insects.    They  flew 


LAST  OUARTEK  OF  CRNTUKY 


57 


rapidly  in  long  clouds  that  darkened  the  sky,  a  few  hundred  feet  above 
the  buildings,  and  millions  of  them  settled  down  into  the  streets  so 
thickly  that  it  was  difficult  to  keep  them  out  of  mouths  and  eyes,  and 
the  doors  and  windows  of  stores  and  dwellings  throughout  the  village 
were  quickly  closed  against  them. 

But  all  these  troublesome  phenomena  were  of  little  account  com- 
pared with  the  crushing  failures  of  the  two  banks  in  1884  and  1<S,S7. 
The  personal  negligence  and  wickedness  which  brought  about  these 
disasters  need  not  be  discussed  in  this  history,  and  perhaps  should  not 
be  for  the  sake  of  relatives  and  friends.  Anyone  who  desires  the 
stories  in  detail  can  go  to  the  files  of  the  local  newspapers.  The 
financial  or  business  prominence  of  the  men  who  controlled  the  Bank 
of  Dansville  inspired  confidence,  and  although  at  the  time  of  its  fail- 
ure it  had  been  a  private  bank  for  eleven  years  the  depositors  were 
numerous  and  the  deposits  large.  On  application  of  John  A.  Vanderlip, 
Reuben  Whiteman  was  appointed  receiver  for  the  bank  May  16,  1884, 


GROUP  OF  CrXIZENS 


and  when  he  filed  his  report,  November  29,  it  appeared  that  the  liabil- 
ities in  certificates  of  deposit,  outstanding  drafts  and  individual  de- 
posits amounted  to  $199,832.44,  the  depositors  being  largely  women 
and  farmers.  The  cash  balances  had  not  been  posted  since  1879. 
The  assets  were  of  no  value,  and  the  depositors  got  nothing  back. 
There  was  much  litigation,  a  part  of  it  being  a  libel  suit  against  the 
Advertiser,  and  another  part  the  conviction  for  grand  larceny  and 
sentence  to  state  prison  for  five  years  of  the  banker  who  claimed  that 
he  had  been  libeled.  One  day  a  hundred  creditors  held  an  indigna- 
tion meeting,  raised  money  to  prosecute  the  bank  officers,  and  re- 
solved to  boycott  every  man  attempting  to  screen  them.  This  Bank 
of  Dansville  was  the  first  bank  of  the  village.  It  was  incorporated 
February  16,  1839,  and  capitalized  at  $50,000.  Its  first  officers 
were:  President,  James  Faulkner;  vice  president,  Justus  Hall;  cash- 
ier, A.  A.  Bennett ;  teller,  David  D.  McNair. 


58  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

In  1887  Daiisville  received  another  severe  blow  in  the  failure  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  made  doubly  severe  by  coming  so  soon  after  the 
other  failure.  On  April  25  of  that  year  its  doors  were  closed,  and 
creditors  clamored  in  vain  for  their  money.  The  deposits  were  then 
about  $200,000,  and  the  largest  depositor  was  the  board  of  education 
which  had  deposited  |22,000  of  school  money.  Several  other  deposi- 
tors were  credited  with  amounts  of  from  $5,000  to  $7,200,  and  those 
whose  deposits  were  from  $1,000  to  $3,000  were  numerous.  "Never 
before  were  deposits  so  large  by  our  best  business  men,"  said  the 
Advertiser.  The  night  after  the  closing  of  the  bank  the  account 
books  were  taken  away  and  hidden  or  destroyed.  The  index  to  the 
big  ledger  was  found  eight  miles  distant  by  the  roadside  in  the  town 
of  Ossian.  Charles  L.  Bingham  of  Mt.  Morris  was  appointed  re- 
ceiver, and  his  report  filed  in  Washington  about  the  middle  of 
October  showed  the  liabilities  due  depositors  to  be  $191,227.70;  due 
banks,  $4,397.02;  due  in  notes,  $16,600;  making  a  total  of  $211,624.- 
72;  and  the  total  assets  to  be  $13,981.45.  The  story  of  the  trials  and 
convictions  that  followed,  with  the  connecting  incidents,  would  make 
a  long  and  dramatic  chapter  which  may  be  omitted.  In  the  final 
settlement  with  creditors  they  received  about  twenty-two  per  cent. 
After  the  first  bank  failure  some  of  the  citizens  hoarded  their  money 
and  others  opened  bank  accounts  in  New  York  and  Rochester. 
Hence  deposits  in  the  First  National,  though  large,  were  much  less 
than  they  otherwise  would  have  been. 

But  Dansville  was  not  without  a  bank  very  long.  On  September  7, 
1887,  a  movement  was  started  for  a  new  bank,  with  capital  stock  of 
$50,000  and  shares  $100  each.  James  W.  Wadsworth  immediately 
subscribed  for  250  shares,  Frank  Fielder  for  fifty  shares,  and  nearly 
all  the  stock  was  taken  within  a  week.  The  bank  was  named  the 
Citizens  Bank  of  Dansville,  and  on  September  22  it  was  decided  to 
open  it  October  1,  and  the  following  officers  were  elected :  President, 
George  A.  Sweet;  vice  president,  James  W.  Wadsworth;  cashier, 
Frank  Fielder.  The  board  of  directors  were  James  W.  Wadsworth, 
Elias  H.  Geiger,  George  A.  Sweet,  Fred  W.  Noyes,  John  J.  Bailey, 
John  M.  Magee,  Frank  Fielder,  James  H.  Jackson,  James  Krein. 

On  December  9,  1890,  a  charter  was  granted  authorizing  the  Mer- 
chants &  Farmers  National  Bank  of  Dansville  to  transact  business 
under  the  national  banking  act,  and  business  was  commenced  Decem- 
ber 20,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000  and  an  issue  of  $12,500 
currency.  The  first  officers  were:  President,  William  T.  Spinning; 
vice-president,  C.  D.  Beebe;  cashier,  D.  O.  Batterson;  board  of 
directors,  William  T.  Spinning,  C.  D.  Beebe,  William  Kramer,  E.  M. 
Parmelee,  James  Krein,  A.  J.  Whiteman,  Isaac  Hampton,  George  W. 
Peck,  Thorn  Carpenter. 

The  most  important  of  all  local  public  movements  during  the 
quarter-century  was  that  for  a  union  of  districts  and  a  union  school 
with  High  school  department.  It  was  started  in  1881,  and  the  union 
was  so  far  effected  that  in  the  fall  of  1882  the  combined  schools  opened 
in  the  old  academy  building  on  the  square  and  Number  two's  brick 
building,  with  a  total  registration  of  273  pupils.  But  obstructions 
came.  A  basis  of  union  had  been  agreed  upon  between  districts 
numbers  one  and  two,    whereby   district  number  one  was  to  raise 


LAS/'  QUARTER  OF  CENTURY  SO 

$3,000  by  tax  as  an  offset  to  the  t;Tfatcr  value  of  number  two's  school 
building.  It  was  afterwards  found  that  such  a  tax  would  be  illegal, 
but  on  August  3,  1SS3,  a  union  school  meeting  had  been  held,  a  reso- 
lution consolidating  the  two  districts  adopted,  and  a  board  of  educa- 
tion elected  consisting  of  Frank  Fielder,  W.  J.  LaRue,  James  \'oor- 
hees,  James  H.  Jackson,  William  Kramer,  Emil  C.  Klauck,  G.  Bas- 
tian,  William  Bradley,  and  James  M.  Edwards,  of  which  board  G. 
Bastian  was  made  president.  During  the  year  1883  twenty  meetings 
of  the  board  were  held.  A  suit  was  brought  against  them  by  the 
trustee  and  others  of  district  number  two  to  enjoin  them  from  col- 
lecting taxes  as  representatives  of  the  united  districts,  on  the  ground 
that  there  had  been  a  breach  of  contract  on  the  part  of  district  num- 
ber one  in  not  raising  the  $3,000  on  which  the  union  of  the  two  dis- 
tricts  was   based.      The   temporary   injunction  was  finally  vacated  by 


GROUP  OF   FIRST   PUPILS   OF    DANSVILLE   UNION   SCHOOL 

Judge  Rumsey,  and  the  board  could  act  with  more  confidence.  The 
seminary  building  on  the  hillside  was  leased  in  the  fall  of  1883,  and 
the  Union  school  opened  there  in  December  with  F.  J.  Diamond  as 
principal,  seven  teachers  and  287  pupils.  The  whole  number  of  pupils 
enrolled  during  the  year  was  462.  Here  the  school  was  conducted 
afterward  until  a  new  building  was  completed.  On  December  2, 1884, 
a  meeting  of  citizens  voted  almost  unanimously  to  build  a  new  school 
house  on  the  west  side  of  the  public  square.  In  June,  1887,  the  con- 
tract for  its  construction  was  given  to  George  W.  Phelps  of  Mount 
Morris  at  a  cost  of  $21,827.21,  and  the  contract  for  heating  arrange- 
ments and  dry  closets  was  given  to  Smead  &  Northcott  of  Ehuira,  for 
$2,350.  Then  came  the  bank  failure  whereby  the  village  lost  the 
most  of  the  money  that  had  been  raised,  and  more  must  be  obtained. 
Fifteen  men  including  the  board  of  education  signed  a  note  for  $4,500 
in  advance  of  the  annual  meeting,  which  sanctioned  what  they  had 
done. 

Work  on  the  building  commenced  on  Friday  (a  bright,  not  a  Black 
Friday)  June  3,  1887.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  Saturday,  August 
13.     The  exercises  were  of  a  simple  character.     President   Edwards 


LA  ST  Q[  -A  R  TER  OF  CENTUR  Y  61 

made  a  few  introductory  remarks,  Rev.  George  K.  Ward  ofifered 
prayer,  the  stone  was  placed  in  position  over  a  despository  of  records 
and  other  papers,  A.  O.  Bunnell  made  a  brief  reminiscent  and  con- 
gratulatory address,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Ward  pronounced  a  benediction. 
The  building  was  completed  with  little  delay,  and  was  dedicated  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1888,  when  James  M.  Edwards  as  president  of  the  board  pre- 
sided and  made  an  introductory  address,  A.  O.  Bunnell  gave  a  com- 
prehensive history  of  the  enterprise,  and  Hon.  A.  S.  Draper,  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  delivered  an  able  address  in 
which  he  paid  high  compliment  to  citizens  and  building.  Other  ad- 
dresses were  made  by  Dr.  Milne  of  the  Geneseo  Normal  school  and 
Dr.  James  C.  Jackson.  Thus  the  era  of  free  school  for  Dansville  in 
a  modern  school  building  of  the  best  type,  with  abundant  room,  was 
auspiciously  begun. 

The  board  of  education  during  the  critical  building  period  were  J. 
M.  Edwards,  president;  F.  Fielder,  F.  M.  Ferine,  J.  J.  Bailey,  H.  F. 
Dyer,  F.  W.  Noyes,  Albert  Sweet,  William  Kramer,  W.  H.  Dick. 
The  entire  cost  of  the  Union  school  building  and  site  was  $26,500. 
Special  credit  should  be  given  here  to  the  pioneer  president  of  the 
board.  Dr.  G.  Bastian,  who  stood  like  a  rock  against  which  the  waves 
of  passion  and  prejudice  and  antiquated  custom  dashed  in  vain  until 
the  storm  had  largely  spent  itself.  Allusion  should  also  be  made  to 
the  great  meetings  held  in  the  roller  skating  rink  to  decide  on  the 
question  of  repairing  the  old  seminary  building  or  erecting  a  new 
modern  building  on  a  central  site,  when  on  meeting  nights  every 
street  seemed  filled  with  a  tide  of  human  beings  converging  at  the 
corner  of  Exchange  and  Elizabeth  streets  there  to  do  battle  for  their 
rights  after  the  fashion  of  the  early  town  meetings  of  New  England 
which  laid  the  foundations  of  civil  liberty  in  this  country.  In  all 
these  meetings  there  was  a  large  proportion  of  women  to  whose  ar- 
duous labors  and  intelligent  influence  must  be  given  a  great  share  of 
the  credit  for  the  improved  school  conditions  then  and  there  materi- 
ally advanced. 

The  present  board  of  education  are:  Frank  Fielder,  president; 
William  Kramer,  F.  M.  Ferine,  H.  F.  Dyer,  J.  M.  Edwards.  F.  W. 
Noyes,  C.  W.  Woolever,  Edward  Bacon,  J.  B.  Morey,  Jr. 

The  teachers  are:  Edward  J.  Bonner,  principal;  Barbara  A.  Mac- 
Leod, preceptress;  Louise  K.  Smith,  1st  assistant;  Mary  C.  Cromer, 
2d  assistant;  Leone  Stocking,  3d  assistant;  Carrie  Emerson,  7th 
grade;  Agnes  H.  Brogan,  6th  grade;  May  R.  Parker,  5th  grade; 
Genevieve  Withington,  4th  grade;  M.  Onnalee  Frazer,  3d  grade; 
Rhea  Mc  Elwaine,  2d  grade ;  Maud  E.  Warren,  1st  grade ;  Grace 
Brown,  primary. 

Presidents  of  board  of  education:  Dr.  G.  Bastian  from  October  26, 
1882,  to  Aug.  31,  1885;  James  M.  Edwards  from  August  31,  1885,  to 
September  7,  1886 ;  Frank  Fielder  from  September  7,  1886,  to  Sep- 
tember 6,  1887;  James  M.  Edwards  from  September  6,  1887,  to  Sep- 
tember, 1892 ;  Frank  Fielder  since  .September  1892. 

Principals  of  Union  school:  F.  J.  Diamond  from  December  3, 
1883—1892;  JW.  G.  Carmer,  1892—1899;  Edward  J.  Bonner  from 
September,  1899. 


LAST  QUARTER  OF  CENTURY 


(.3 


Preceptresses :  Ada  R.  Briggs  from  December  3, 1883,  to  June,  1884 ; 
Jennie  McLaughlin,  1884—1885;  Helen  Boothby,  1885—1886;  Anna 
McBride,  1886—1889;  Minnie  Lefebvre,  1889—1891;  Anna  McBride, 
1891—1892;  Mary  E.  Lyman,  1892—1893;  Elizabeth  Goode,  1893— 
1899;  Alice  M.  Hutchings,  1899—1900;  Barbara  A.  MacLeod  from 
1900. 

The  Dansville  Village  Improvement  society  was  partly  organized 
at  a  meeting  of  citizens  on  February  7,  1888,  by  the  adoption  of  a 
constitution  and  by-laws,  and  at  another  meeting  February  16,  the 
organization  was  completed  by  the  election  of  officers,  trustees  and 
a  general  committee.  The  officers  were:  President,  B.  P.  Andrews; 
vice-presidents,  Mrs.  Kate  J.  Jackson,  Miss  A.  P.  Adams,  George  A. 
Sweet,  Rev.  J.  H.  Day,  F.  W.  Noyes;  secretary,  Oscar  Woodruff; 
treasurer,  W.  H.  Dick.  The  society  under  the  energetic  and  efficient 
lead  of  President  Andrews,  worked  hard  and  enthusiastically  for  two 
years.  During  1888  Washington  park  and  the  northern  portion  of 
Central  park  received  the  most  attention.  The  trees  in  Washington 
park  had  been  set  out  the  previous  year  by  John  McCurdy  and  Gor- 
don Wilson,  assisted  by  Hon.  J.  B.  Morey.  During  1889  the  old 
burying  ground  and  Fulton  square   were  looked  after.     Efforts  were 


FANCY   SKETCH  OF   PROMINENT   CITIZENS 

made  to  stimulate  pride  among  citizens  in  caring  for  private  property, 
and  the  society  influenced  the  trustees  to  pass  an  ordinance  requiring 
wider  and  better  sidewalks.  Much  time  and  carefully  planned  efforts 
were  found  necessary  to  bring  about  the  desired  changes,  and  in  all 
their  work  the  society  had  the  sympathetic  co-operation  of  the  village 
trustees — E.  H.  Readshaw,  C.  Dick,  N.  Johantgen,  Owen  Gallagher 
and  B.  P.  Andrews.  Among  those  especially  active  in  aiding  the 
officers  were  Drs.  James  H.  and  Kate  J.  Jackson,  T.  E.  Gallagher, 
E.  H.  Readshaw,  and  John  M.  McNair.  Central  park,  seven  acres, 
(formerly  Church  square)  had  been  deeded  to  the  village  by  Nathan- 
iel Rochester  "for  public  purposes,"  and  been  occupied  by  a  variety 
of  things    called  public.     Some  received  deeds  and  some  squatted. 


64  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Besides  the  four  churches  there  were  south  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church,  a  building  for  the  Hook  and  Ladder  company's  truck,  one  for 
the  Protectives  and  their  apparatus,  and  one  for  voting  purposes,  also 
an  old  square  stone  building  used  as  a  lock-up.  Near  St.  Patrick's 
church  was  the  ancient  academy  and  back  of  this  the  still  older  dis- 
trict school  building.  The  village  trustees  purchased  the  Burns  car- 
riage factory,  formerly  the  old  Methodist  church,  and  refitted  it  for 
the  use  of  the  firemen  and  general  purposes  of  a  public  building,  and 
in  the  rear  built  a  steel  lock-up.  The  old  graveyard  was  cleared  and 
cleaned,  and  many  of  the  buried  bones  removed  and  reburied  in 
Greenmount  cemetery.  This  job  and  the  beautifying  of  the  plot  were 
the  most  expensive  things  done  and  to  aid  in  accomplishing  them  the 
village  contributed  $100  in  labor  and  Dr.  J.  H.  Jackson  gave  $50. 
Fulton  square,  long  used  as  a  pasture  and  circus  ground,  was  put  in 
order,  beautified,  and  named  Elm  park,  the  residents  of  the  vicinity 
contributing  considerably  to  this  end.  George  A.  Sweet  contributed 
the  elms,  which  are  now  large  trees,  and  this  park  is  now  one  of  the 
prettiest  points  in  the  village.  Arrangements  were  made  whereby 
individuals  could  have  trees,  shrubs,  etc.,  planted  at  a  very  small  cost. 
The  changes  in  the  parks,  on  the  streets  and  in  private  yards,  the 
Removal  of  front  and  boundary  fences,  brought  about  by  the  action 
and  influence  of  the  society  during  two  years  have  added  much  to  the 
attractions  of  Dansville. 

Nor  have  the  moral  and  religious  conditions  been  neglected  during 
the  quarter  century.  Besides  the  two  new  churches  before  mentioned, 
the  others  have  been  improved  and  beautified ;  several  new  religious 
and  reform  societies  have  been  organized,  with  an  active  membership, 
and  accomplished  a  good  deal,  while  the  old  societies  have  increased 
their  efficiency ;  denominational  strifes  and  jealousies,  including  the 
former  religious  contentions  between  Protestants  and  Catholics,  have 
diminished  and  almost  disappeared;  among  the  evangelical  churches 
union  meetings  and  union  revival  efforts  have  not  been  unfrequent ; 
and  an  era  of  good  feeling,  with  community  of  interest,  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  old-time  dogmatic  frictions,  which  it  is  refreshing 
to  contemplate,  has  slowly  evolved. 

The  competitions  and  methods  of  local  politics  have  also  greatly 
improved.  Time  was  when  party  and  factional  bitterness  was  in- 
tense, and  caucus,  convention  and  election  trickery  and  bribery  were 
more  common  than  fairness  and  honesty.  More  stringent  state  laws 
in  part,  but  quite  as  much  a  better  public  sentiment,  with  the  retire- 
ment or  death  of  old  local  bosses  and  their  lieutenants,  have  made 
the  primary  and  nominating  meetings  and  campaign  work  compara- 
tively decent. 

In  short,  this  community  at  the  close  of  the  last  quarter  century 
takes  a  much  more  charitable  and  rational  view  of  human  life  and 
human  differences  than  it  took  in  the  previous  quarter  century,  and 
speech  and  practice  have  improved  correspondingly. 


CHAPTER    VI 
Canal  and  R.ailroads 

Sub-Branch  of  the  Canal — Exciting  Conflict  Between  Villagers  and  State  Em- 
ployees— Dansville's  Prosperous  Period- — Railroads  Turn  the  Tide — Rail- 
road Project  in  1832 — A  Wait  of  Forty  Years — Dansville's  First  Railroad 
in  1872 — The  Second  in  1882. 


ABOUT  the  time  the  work  on  the  Dansville  branch  of  the 
Valley  canal  commenced  "red  dog"  banks  were  started, 
shinplasters  were  issued,  and  for  a  time  prices  were  so 
inflated  that  pork  sold  for  $26  a  barrel,  flour  for  $10  to 
$15  a  barrel,  and  wheat  for  $2.50  a  bushel.  The  German 
emigrants  along  Sandy  Hill  had  built  themselves  small 
log  cabins,  and  found  work  at  digging,  quarrying  and 
dressing  stone  for  the  canal,  the  locks  and  bridges.  Many 
built  shanties  along  the  line.  Much  of  the  stone  was  quar- 
ried from  the  old  quarry  in  the  ravine  between  Woodville 
and  Cumminsville.  Amariah  Faulkner,  sixteen  years  old, 
a  son  of  Dr.  James  Faulkner,  was  instantly  killed  by  a  stone  from  one 
of  the  blasts  in  this  quarry.  Hundreds  of  refugees  came  from  Canada 
just  after  the  Patriot  war  and  found  work  on  the  canal.  This  was  a 
state  enterprise  under  a  democratic  administration  till  1838,  when 
after  Seward  was  elected  governor  he  stopped  the  work  for  a  time, 
and  then  the  plan  of  the  locks  was  changed  from  cut  stone  to  com- 
posite of  stone,  plank  and  timbers.  The  Dansville  branch  beginning 
at  the  Shaker  settlement,  with  eight  locks,  was  completed  in  1842  at  a 


t 


.^■■^i-     ■^^■:     ,....,    .-     ,,./.^   .■■;,- 


ajM-  fttr-.tta...i"-:.\.-Wv«M»'t»t*n..»r,-|^-4f 


LOCATION   OF  CANAL  TIGHT  OT  1844 

66 


C.  I  .y.l  L  AND  A\  I ILROA  DS 


67 


cost  of  $375,555.  The  Dansville  end  was  at  Faulkner's  dam,  half  a 
mile  from  Main  street,  and  such  an  ending  created  much  ill  feeling 
among  business  citizens,  who  soon  afterward  raised  $6,000  b)'  sub- 
scription to  build  a  sub-branch  between  the  main  branch  and  Spruce 
street,  and  connecting  with  the  former  several  rods  south  of  the  Faulk- 
ner basin.  It  was  completed  in  1844,  and  when  the  time  came  to 
make  the  final  cut  through  the  bank  into  the  main  bi-anch,  three  state 
scows  with  gangs  of  men  were  there  to  prevent  it.  A  crowd  of  citi- 
zens, led  by  George  Hyland  and  Merritt  H.  Brown,  had  gone  down 
with  pickaxes  and  spades,  and  were  ready  for  them.  George  Hyland 
made  a  speech  urging  the  men  not  to  hesitate  in  cutting  through  the 
berm  bank,  or  in  violent  resistance  if  the  men  of  the  scows  interfered. 
They  did  interfere,  and  there  was  a  short  but  hot  fight,  Mr.  Hyland 
giving  his  attention  to  the  captain  of  the  scows,  whom  he  seized  and 
subdued.  The  scow  gangs  fled,  the  cut  was  made,  and  the  water 
soon  rushed  into  the  sub-branch,  and  it  was  ready  for  boats.  After- 
ward about  thirty  leading  citizens  were  indicted  for  illegally  tapping 
the  state's  canal  and  for  resisting  the  state  authorities,  but  their  cases 
were  never  tried  and  the  sub-branch  and  basin  became  the  village 
center  of  the  canal  business.  In  1842  when  the  main  branch  was  com- 
pleted to  Dansville  there  was  an  enthusiastic  celebration  with  crowds 
of  people,  many  flags,  and  a  parade  by  Vicker's  Artillery  and  Washing- 
ton Engine  companies.  The  state  scow  came  from  beyond  Rochester', 
with  a  large  delegation,  firing  a  salute  from  a  cannon  at  every  village. 
S.  W.  Smith  was  president  of  the  day,  and  replied  to  a  congratu- 
latory speech  by  M.  H.  Mills  of  jMciunt  Morris. 

The  most  prosperous  period  of  Dansville  was  the  ten  years  between 
the  opening  of  the  canal  and  the  extension  of  the  Erie  railroad  to 
Dunkirk,  when  there  was  an  immediate  change,  nearly  all  transporta- 
tion this  way  from  the  counties  south  being  diverted  to  the  new  rail- 
road. For  several  months  before  the  opening  of  our  canal  there  was 
extraordinary  activity  in  the  lumber  regions  south   of  us,    in   cutting 


EAGLE  HOTEL  AND  JETFERSON  STKEET 


68 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


and  sawing  logs  preparatory  to  early  shipment  over  the  approaching 
water-way,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  ready  for  navigation  the  lumber 
teams  began  to  pour  into  Dansville  from  that  region,  extending  as  far 
south  as  Coudersport,  Pa.,  seventy-five  miles  distant.  Often  in  the 
winter  time  from  200  to  300  loaded  sleighs  a  day,  sometimes  as  many 
as  twenty  in  a  string,  came  in  over  the  southern  roads,  and  the  loaded 
wagons  in  the  warmer  season  were  numerous.  They  brought  lumber 
and  potash,  butter  and  cheese,  and  from  Perkinsville  way  came  many 
enormous  spars  for  masts,  each  drawn  by  several  teams.  All  this 
made  the  mercantile  trade  very  lively  and  gave  the  hotels  a  bonanza. 
There  were  four  or  five  hotels  on  Jefferson  street,  which  was  a  hive  of 
activity.  Many  canal  boats  were  built  yearly,  mostly  by  Benjamin 
and  Jacob  Burling,  in  yards  between  Ossian  street  and  Faulkner's 
basin.  Lumber  piles  nearly  as  high  as  the  Maxwell  block  extended 
along  the  canal  bank  from  the  Spruce  street  basin  to  the  junction  and 
from  the  junction  to  Faulkner's  basin.  But  as  soon  as  the  Erie  rail- 
road was  completed  to  Dunkirk,  in  May,  1851,  the  tide  turned,  and 
activity  gave  place  to  dullness.  The  Dansville  boom  and  the  high 
hopes  to  which  it  gave  birth  were  over,  and  there  was  a  great  calm. 
From  that  time  until  the  canal  was  closed  bv  the    state    in  1878   the 


PRESENT  VIEW  AT  UPPER  CANAL   BASIN 


business  on  the  canal  was  comparatively  small,  and  in  the  later  years, 
after  the  Dansville  and  Mount  Morris  railroad  went  into  operation, 
very  small.  The  railroad  line  from  Dansville  to  Rochester  was  then 
doing  the  most  of  the  carrying  trade  of  the  valley. 

The  canal  tolls  received  in  Dansville  for  a  series  of  years,  beginning 
with  the  first  after  the  completion  of  the  Dansville  branch,  were  as 
follows : 


CANAL  AXD  RAILROADS 


(,') 


15.47  1849 ?:i2r>,741.72 

1850 28, 930.  SO 

18S1 16,721.47 

1852 11,378.92 

1853 10,383.26 

1854 6,627.28 

1855 6, 662. 49 

.,5(i(l.()9,  and  the  highest  year 
,527.74.    After  1860  the  annual 


1842 $  6, 

1843 8, 378. 96 

1844 16, 435. 27 

1845 18,715.14 

1846 21,169.47 

1847 26, 459. 43 

1848 25,494.73 

In  185()  the  tolls  amounted  to  only 
afterward  was  1858,  when  they  were 

tolls  never  reached  $2,000.  Mark  J.  Bunnell  in  1873  was  the  last 
canal  collector  in  Dansville  with  office  in  the  basement  of  Bunnell 
block.  After  1873  and  until  the  closing  of  the  canal  the  tolls  were 
collected  at  Mt.  Morris. 

In  1832  a  railroad  was  projected  from  Rochester  to  Dansville,  and 
the  Rochester  &  Dansville  Railroad  Co.  was  incorporated  by  the 
legislature.  Several  meetings  had  been  held  in  Dansville,  Geneseo 
and  Rochester  to  push  the  project  to  success,  and  when  the  news  of 
incorporation  was  received  at  Dansville  an  enthusiastic  celebration 
was  made  brilliant  with  bonfires,  rockets  and  fire-balls.  Surveys  were 
commenced,  and  stock  books  were  opened  along  the  line,  but  subscrip- 
tions came  slow,  were  insufficient,  and  no  railroad  could  be  built.  Judge 
Carroll  and  James  Faulkner  were  prominent  in  this  movement.  It 
was  not  until  forty  years  later  that  Dansville  people  saw  the  locomo- 
tive enter  their  town. 

A  railroad  was  completed  from  Avon  to  Mount  Morris  in  1859,  con- 
necting with  the  Erie  road  to  Rochester  at  Avon.  It  was  leased  to 
the  Erie  coinpany  in  1872.  The  Dansville  and  Genesee  Valley  Railroad 
company  was  organized  in  1864,  with  a  capital  of  $150,(1(10,  to  con- 
struct a  railroad  from  Dansville  to   Mount   Morris.     The   first   seven 


DANSVILLE    STATION    D.    fl    M.    R.    R. 


70  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

miles  were  not  constructed  until  1871,  and  the  remaining  S%  miles 
were  finished  in  1872.  By  an  arrangement  with  the  directors  the 
road  passed  under  the  management  of  the  Erie  company,  which 
agreed  to  extend  it  to  Burns,  but  did  not.  They  ran  it  until  Oct.  22, 
1892,  when  they  abandoned  it,  and  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  a 
new  local  company.  There  have  been  complications  and  pro- 
longed controversies  regarding  the  relations  of  the  Erie  company  to 
this  railroad,  the  most  of  which  it  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  sift, 
and  as  unprofitable  as  difficult.  Dansville,and  especially  Dan.'Jville  nur- 
serymen, with  their  quantities  of  bulky  nursery  stock  for  shipment  in 
spring  and  fall,  suffered  great  inconvenience  and  considerable  loss  by 
the  Erie  abandonment.  It  is  operated  now  as  a  separate  road  (the 
Dansville  and  Mount  Morris  railroad)  under  the  direction  of  A.  S. 
Murray,  Jr.,  receiver,  with  R.  H.  England  as  general  manager,  and 
G.  E.  Dunklee,  general  superintendent.  Many  changes  have  been 
made  in  the  rolling  stock  and  extensive  improvements  are  contem- 
plated this  year  in  the  roadbed  and  bridges  which  promise  much 
added  transportation  accomodation.  The  station  is  conveniently 
located  near  the  abandoned  basin  of  the  sub-branch  canal  already  re- 
ferred to. 

The  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad,  commonly 
called  the  Lackawanna,  whose  course  is  along  picturesque  East  hill 
high  up,  was  so  far  completed  in  its  westward  construction  in  1882, 
that  it  ran  trains  to  Mt.  Morris,  and  the  next  year  it  commenced 
running  to  Buffalo.  The  road  is  under  able  management,  its  local 
representatives  are  efficient,  it  is  accomodating  to  the  people  along  its 
route,  and  both  its  freight  and  passenger  traffic  is  enormous,  an  aver- 
age of  about  eighty  trains  passing  Dansville  daily.  It  is  unfortunate 
for  Dansville  business  men  that  its  station  is  over  a  mile  from  Main 
street,  and  can  only  be  reached  from  the  village  by  ascending  a  steep 
hill.  A  trolley  line  is  expected  to  soon  largely  remedy  this  difficulty.. 
Dansville  is  on  the  main  line,  334  rniles  from  New  York,  76  miles 
from  Buffalo. 


Chapter  vii 
Notable  Men  of  tKe  Early  Times 

Moses  VanCampen — Red  Jacket — ^Charles  Williamson — Nathaniel  Rochester. 

Moses  Van  Campen 

^^^P  AJOR  Moses  VanCampen  was  burn  in  New  Jersey  in  1757 
f^^  and  died  in  Almond,  N.  Y. ,  in  1849,  aged  ninety-two  years. 
X  JL  He  lived  in  Dansville  on  Ossian  street  from  1831  to  1848 
— about  eight  years — and  often  came  here  before  his  re- 
moval. He  was  one  of  the  most  adventurous,  daring  and 
efficient  spirits  in  General  Sullivan's  expedition  of  1779  to 
this  valley.  The  interesting  memoir  of  his  life  and  times 
by  his  grandson.  Rev.  J.  Niles  Hubbard,  was  completed 
here  in  1841,  and  the  author  afterwards  resided  here  as 
pastor  four  years — 1856  to  1860.  Therefore  there  are  sev- 
eral links  connecting  the  famous  scout  and  fighter  with 
Dansville  history.  His  strenuous  life  was  one  of  adventures  stranger 
than  fiction,  and  his  general  character  was  not  less  admirable  than  his 
dauntless  courage.  He  acquired  muscle  by  hard  labor  on  his  father's 
farm  in  boyhood,  skill  with  the  rifle  and  quick  observation  by  much 
hunting  in  the  deep  woods,  and  knowledge  of  elementary  text  books 
and  surveying  in  a  neighboring  school  before  he  was  sixteen  years 
old.  Then,  in  1773,  his  father  moved  with  his  family  to  the  Wyom- 
ing Valley,  Northumberland  county.  Pa.  When, he  was  seventeen, 
and  the  notes  of  preparation  for  the  fight  against  Great  Britain  were 
sounding,  he  adopted  the  cause  of  the  revolutionists  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  was  made  captain  of  a  company  organized  for  military 
drill  and  practice  with  the  rifle.  Soon  afterward  he  became  one  of  a 
regiment  raised  in  Northumberland  county  for  the  Continental  army, 
and  was  appointed  ensign.  In  1777,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  fairly 
entered  upon  his  career  as  a  soldier.  The  war  had  begun,  the  militia 
was  brought  into  active  service,  and  he  became  orderly  sergeant  in  a 
regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  John  Kelley.  The  Six  Nations  had 
decided  in  council  to  become  allies  of  the  British,  and  begun  their 
cunning  hostilities  against  the  settlers.  Van  Campen  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  a  company  to  make  forays  against  them,  and  within  a  few 
months  conducted  three  or  four  short  expeditions  in  such  a  way  as  to 
win  commendation  and  admiration.  He  became  a  careful  and  keenlv 
observant  student  of  the  character  and  methods  of  the  Indians,  and 
was  one  of  the  first  to  anticipate  their  intentions  and  movements.  In 
times  of  extreme  doubt  or  danger  he  was  always  ready  to  imperil  his 
life  in  enterprises  of  discovery  and  possible  or  probable  struggle.  Not 
once  was  he  known  to  flinch  or  draw  back  in  his  whole  remarkable 
military  career  as  a  soldier.  He  connected  himself  with  General  Sul- 
livan's army  in  the  expedition  to  this  valley,  was  made  quarter- 
master, and  for  two  or  three  months  before  it  started  was  occupied  in 
collecting  military  stores.  He  had  the  care  of  all  the  supplies  for  the 
fleet    of   twenty    boats   with    2,000    horses   which  was  propelled  from 

72 


74  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Wyoming  to  Tioga  Point  up  the  Susquehanna  by  means  of  poles. 
While  the  army  was  at  Tioga  waiting  for  General  Clinton,  General 
Sullivan  sent  him  out  in  command  of  a  small  company  to  ain- 
bush  some  Indian  warriors,  and  probably  he  would  have  succeeded  if  his 
sentinel  had  not  fallen  asleep.  Often  he  acted  as  scout  alone,  and 
would  steal  close  to  the  camps  of  the  Indians,  watch  and  count  them, 
and  discover  if  possible  their  designs.  General  Sullivan  quickly  dis- 
covered his  mettle  and  skill,  and  told  him  to  select  and  command 
twenty-six  soldiers  as  the  advance  guard  of  the  army.  At  Hog  Back 
hill  they  had  a  musketry  and  hand-to-hand  fight  with  a  body  of 
Indians  in  which  Van  Campen's  clothes  were  pierced  by  three  bullets. 
Near  Baldwin's  creek  he  tricked  a  big  Indian  fighter  and  sharpshooter 
who  was  trying  to  put  bullet  holes  through  several  of  Sullivan's  men, 
and  shot  him.  In  these  and  other  exploits  on  the  long  march  to  and 
up  our  valley  he  acted  voluntarily,  because,  being  quartermaster, 
they  were  not  required  of  him,  his  duties  being  confined  to  the  pro- 
curement and  care  of  supplies.  But  he  always  preferred  the  perils 
and  fatigues  of  scouting  and  strife  with  the  savage  enemy  to  the 
ennui  of  inactivity.  He  returned  home  from  the  Sullivan  expedition 
dangerously  sick  with  a  fever.  His  father's  house  had  been  burnt  by 
the  Indians,  and  he  was  taken  to  a  fort  at  Fishing  Creek,  to  which 
his  father  had  moved. 

In  1783,  a  party  of  ten  Indians  killed  and  scalped  his  father  and 
young  brother  by  his  side,  thrust  a  spear  through  his  vest  and  shirt, 
making  a  slight  flesh  wound,  and  made  him  prisoner  with  two  other 
men  and  two  small  boys.  They  were  marched  away  to  probable  tor- 
ture and  death,  but  A"an  Campen  effected  their  escape  in  one  of  the 
most  daring  and  skillful  performances  of  his  life.  Watchful  of  every 
opportunity,  he  got  hold  of  a  knife  which  an  Indian  had  dropped,  and 
in  the  night  cut  his  own  bonds  and  those  of  the  other  prisoners,  when  he 
and  one  of  them  (the  third  man  proved  to  be  a  coward)  attacked  their 
captors  with  hatchets  and  made  quick  work  with  them. .  Nine  of  the 
ten  were  killed,  Van  Campen  killing  five  and  wounding  in  the  neck 
the  one  who  escaped.  About  this  time  he  received  a  commission  as 
ensign  in  the  Continental  service,  and  had  other  perilous  experiences 
with  the  Indians  before  joining  an  expedition  up  the  west  branch  of 
the  Susquehanna,  in  the  course  of  which  he  was  again  taken  prisoner. 
This  time  he  failed  to  escape.  He  was  taken  to  the  head  waters  of 
the  Genesee  river,  thence  to  this  valley,  and  thence  across  to  Fort 
Niagara.  At  Caneadea  he  was  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and  an- 
ticipated some  such  agonizing  tortures  as  Boyd  and  Parker  had  ex- 
perienced after  they  were  captured  near  Cuylerville.  This  would 
have  been  his  fate  if  the  Indians  had  known  that  he  was  their  dreaded 
foe.  Van  Campen,  but  they  did  not  identify  him.  They  handed  him 
over  to  Colonel  Butler  of  the  British  army,  and  learning  who  he  was 
soon  afterward  offered  the  colonel  fourteen  other  prisoners  in  ex- 
change for  him.  Butler  offered  him  a  commission  in  the  British 
army,  and  threatened  to  give  him  up  to  barbarian  cruelties  if  he  did 
not  accept.  He  scorned  both  the  offer  and  threat,  and  Butler  finally 
relented  and  placed  him  in  confinement.  From  this  he  was  not  re- 
leased until  after  the  treaty  of  1784,  when  General  Washington  ap- 
pointed him   interpreter  for  the   Six  Nations,  the  duties  of  which  he 


XO  TABLIi  MUX  OF  THJi  HA RL  Y  T/AfJlS  75 

discharged  until  within  a  few  years  of  his  death.  His  military  title 
of  major  came  from  a  militia  commission  L^'iven  him  in  Northumber- 
land county  after  the  war.  He  mox'ed  from  there  to  Allegany  c(umty, 
N.  Y.,  in  17')(>,  and  practiced  surveying,  in  which  he  was  an  expert 
and  did  excellent  work.  In  1810  and  later  he  was  appointed  by  the 
state  as  surveyor  or  commissioner  to  lay  out  several  important  rtjads, 
the  first  being  from  Canandaigua  to  the  mouth  of  the  Olean  river  by 
way  of  Conesus.  While  living  in  Angelica  he  filled  several  offices, 
among  them  those  of  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  and  county 
treasurer,  holding  the  latter  office  from  1814  to  182(>.  He  was  eighty- 
four  years  old  when,  in  1841,  while  residing  in  Dansville,  he  was  se- 
lected for  president  of  the  day  at  the  imposing  ceremonies  at  Cuyler- 
ville  connected  with  the  removal  of  the  remains  of  Lieutenant  Boyd 
and  his  companion,  Parker,  to  Rochester,  and  although  feeble,  was 
present  and  made  a  brief  address.  He  was  introduced  by  ^Ir.  Treat, 
who  said:  "Listen  to  his  words  and  call  to  mind  his  own  matchless 
heroism  and  virtues — those  of  one  worthy  of  this  high  duty — the 
brave  soldier  and  patriot,  surrendering  to  the  soldiers  of  another  age 
the  precious  remains  of  his  own  patriotic  and  lion-hearted  comrades,  that 
they  may  receive  at  the  hands  of  a  grateful  posterity  the  honors  which 
are  ever  the  just  due  of  heroism  and  virtue." 

Just  before  his  death  in  Almond,  October  15,  184'),  he  expressed  a 
wish  that  Rev.  Thomas  Aitken  of  Sparta  might  preach  his  funeral 
sermon,  and  he  was  sent  for.  Although  the  weather  was  rainy  the 
admiring  people  who  listened  to  ]\Ir.  Aitken's  able  discourse  and  fine 
eulogy  filled  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Red  Jacket 

Because  Red  Jacket,  though  a  full-blooded  Indian,  was  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  orators  that  America,  the  country  of  great  orators,  has 
produced,  and  because  he  spent  much  time  and  delivered  some  of  his 
finest  speeches  in  this  valley,  and  because  he  came  to  Dansville  sev- 
eral times  in  the  early  part  of  the  century  and  delivered  informal 
orations  on  the  street  to  wondering  groups,  a  history  of  Dansville 
would  not  be  quite  complete  without  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life. 

Red  Jacket's  Indian  name  was  Sagoyewatha  or  He-keeps-them- 
awake.  He  was  born  at  Canoga  on  the  west  bank  of  Cayuga  lake. 
Before  he  reached  manhood  he  remembered  almost  everything  he  saw 
and  heard,  and  was  noted  for  his  swift  tirelessness  as  a  runner.  His 
early  military  career  was  not  important,  for  he  did  not  believe  in  war, 
nor  like  military  affairs,  nor  care  for  military  fame.  The  Indian 
warriors.  Brant  and  Cornplanter,  called  him  a  coward  in  the  da\'s  of 
the  Revolution,  when  the  part  he  took  was  mostly  that  of  bearing  dis- 
patches as  a  runner  for  the  British  officers.  Cornplanter  became  very 
angry  with  him  because  he  would  not  help  him  make  a  stand  against 
General  Sullivan's  army  at  Canandaigua  beach,  but  ran  away  with 
other  Indians,  and  he  exclaimed:  "I  leave  that  man — he  is  a  coward." 
But  in  the  war  of  1812  Red  Jacket  proved  his  bravery  in  battle  after 
being  overruled  by  his  tribe  in  his  opposition  to  their  taking  part  in 
it.  Being  in  principle  opposed  to  all  war,  and  shrewdly  observant  of 
the  chances  that  either  side  might  be  the  victor,  he  wished  his  nation 
to  remain  neutral  in  both  of  our  struggles  against  Great  Britain. 


76  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Red  Jacket  was  a  philosopher,  a  profound  thinker  and  a  sagacious 
politician  as  well  as  a  great  orator,  and  with  citizenship  and  a  good 
education  might  have  become  a  leading  statesman.  At  the  time  of 
the  treaty  of  1784,  at  Fort  Stanwix  he  made  an  opposing  speech  which 
was  called  "a  masterpiece  of  oratory"  and  astonished  La  Fayette,  But 
Cornplanter  prevailed  and  the  treaty  was  signed.  Immediately  after- 
ward Red  Jacket's  influence  increased  among  his  people,  and  Corn- 
planter  tried  to  counteract  it,  but  in  a  test  council  at  Buffalo  Creek 
the  former  defended  himself  with  such  eloquence  and  ability  in  a 
speech  three  hours  long  that  he  secured  a  majority  in  his  favor.  At 
the  time  of  the  Big  Tree  council  in  1797,  he  made  a  most  eloquent 
speech  against  signing  the  treaty,  but  was  again  defeated  by  influ- 
ences which  have  become  familiar  history.  Both  at  Fort  Stanwix 
and  Big  Tree  his  view  was  right  from  the  standpoint  of  justice  to 
the  Indian,  although  it  meant  obstruction  to  the  white  man's 
progress. 

Red  Jacket  was  opposed  to  the  missionaries  and  their  teachings, 
and  when  questioned  about  them  said:  "These  men  know  we  do  not 
understand  their  religion.  We  cannot  read  their  book — they  tell  us 
diiferent  stories  about  what  it  contains,  and  we  believe  they  make 
the  book  talk  to  suit  themselves.  If  we  had  no  money,  no  land  and 
no  country  to  be  cheated  out  of,  these  black-coats  would  not  trouble 
themselves  about  our  good  hereafter.  The  Great  Spirit  will  not  pun- 
ish us  for  what  we  do  not  know.  He  will  do  justice  to  his  red 
children." 

Red  Jacket  wished  to  preserve  the  independence  of  his  people,  and 
his  clear-visioned,  prophetic  mind  penetrated  far  into  the  fuure  and 
saw  their  increasing  afflictions  and  decreasing  power  before  the  ad- 
vance of  the 'white  man.  His  disappointments  in  connection  with  his 
patriotic  efforts  for  their  good  grieved  him  and  inclined  him  to  the 
potations  which  produced  the  hope  or  forgetfulness  of  inebriety.  He 
talked  about  them  in  his  speeches  on  Dansville  streets,  and  lamented 
more  and  more  the  flight  and  condition  of  his  once  prosperous  and 
powerful  nation.  The  decay  and  sorrows  of  the  Senecas  seemed  to  be 
always  in  his  mind.  Intellectually  he  was  the  foremost  man  of  the 
Six  Nations. 

Red  Jacket  died  January  20,  1830,  at  the  Seneca  village  near 
Buffalo,  from  an  attack  of  cholera  morbus.  "I  am  about  to  leave 
you,"  he  said,  "and  when  I  am  gone  and  my  warnings  are  no  longer 
heard  or  regarded,  the  craft  and  avarice  of  the  white  man  will  pre- 
vail. *  *  *  Think  not  I  mourn  for  myself.  I  go  to  join  the  spirits 
of _my  fathers,  where  age  cannot  come;  but  my  heart  fails  when  I 
think  of  my  people  who  are  so  soon  to  be  scattered  and  forgotten." 

The  striking  portrait  of  Red  Jacket  in  this  history  (see  page  21) 
suggests  the  superior  qualities  of  his  mind.  Colonel  Stone  said  of 
him:  "When  fired  with  indignation,  or  burning  for  revenge,  the  ex- 
pression of  his  eye  was  terrible,  and  when  he  chose  to  display  his  pow- 
ers of  irony,  which  were  rarely  excelled,  the  aspect  of  his  keen  sar- 
castic glance  was  irresistible." 


NO  TA  BL  E  MEN  OE  THE  EA  RL  Y  TIMES  77 


Charles  Williamson 

Captain  Charles  Williamson  more  than  any  one  else  gave  the  first 
and  strongest  impulse  to  the  early  settlement  and  progress  of  the 
Genesee  valley,  Dansville  included.  He  was  an  educated  man,  with 
foresight,  enterprise,  remarkable  business  ability,  and  indomitable 
energy.  He  loved  horses  and  cattle,  jokes  and  stories,  was  hopeful 
and  cheerful,  and  in  his  many  dealings  with  the  early  settlers  kind 
and  liberal.  It  was  fortunate  for  this  region  that  a  man  so  broad- 
minded  and  capable,  with  so  pleasing  a  personality,  was  its  leading 
pioneer,  backed  by  the  financial  power  to  carry  forward  his  projects. 
He  was  a  Scotchman,  and  came  to  America  during  the  Revolution 
as  a  prisoner  of  war.  He  had  been  given  a  captain's  commission  in 
the  British  service,  and  sailed  with  his  regiment  for  this  country  to 
fight  our  forefathers,  the  rebels.  But  he  did  not  fight  them,  for  his 
vessel  was  captured  by  a  French  privateer,  and  all  its  soldiers  of  the 
king  were  brought  to  Boston  and  held  captive  until  the  close  of  the 
war. 

In  1791  Captain  Williamson  was  appointed  agent  for  an  English 
company  of  distinguished  men  headed  by  Sir  William  Pulteney  to  look 
after  the  interests  of  what  was  known  as  the  Pultney  estate  in  Amer- 
ica. He  came  to  this  end  of  the  valley,  and  after  a  critical  survey  of 
the  lands  and  possibilities  hereabouts,  decided  that  his  first  enterprise 
should  be  the  opening  of  a  road  through  the  dense  woods  from  the 
junction  of  Canaseraga  creek  with  the  Genesee  to  Ross  Farm  (Wil- 
liamsport).  Pa.  It  was  a  very  difficult  and  expensive  undertaking  for 
those  days,  but  was  successfully  accomplished.  This  road  was  the 
iirst  one  opened  from  the  south,  and  became  invaluable  to  the  early 
settlers,  and  provided  a  comparatively  easy  means  of  ingress  for  many 
who  were  seeking  new  homes  in  this  attractive  wilderness.  When  it 
was  completed  Capt.  Williamson  proceeded  in  other  energetic  ways  to 
help  develop  and  populate  the  valley.  He  started  its  first  village  and 
brought  in  its  first  colony.  The  village  was  the  now  extinct  and 
almost  forgotten  Williamsburgh  at  this  end  of  his  long  road  where  the 
streams  meet.  Canaseraga  creek  was  then  navigable  to  Dansville 
with  a  species  of  plank  boats  called  arks,  each  of  which,  it  is  recorded, 
would  carry  300  barrels  of  flour,  and  considerable  lumber  and  produce 
besides.  Something  has  been  said  about  Williamsburgh  in  a  previous 
chapter.  It  was  near  there  that  Captain  Williamson's  annual  fairs  and 
horse  races  were  held,  which  influenced  the  Virginians  and  Pennsylva- 
nians  to  come  with  their  horses,  and  some  of  them  with  slaves,  over  the 
Williamson  road,  and  were  the  means  of  bringing  with  them  and  after 
them  many  a  permanent  settler. 

Captain  Williamson  began  to  give  attention  to  Dansville  soon  after 
the  first  settlers  arrived,  and  as  early  as  1792  established  William  Mc- 
Cartney close  by  as  one  of  his  land  agents.  He  built  some  mills  here, 
and  Pulteney  tract  lands  in  and  around  Dansville  were  sold  to  many 
comers.  For  ten  years — from  1791  to  1801 — his  energies  were  mostly 
directed  towards  the  development  of  this  end  of  the  valley.  In  1796 
his  Williamsburgh  had  three  frame  buildings  and  twelve  log  houses, 
besides  Williamson's  two  hundred  feet  barn  for  horses,  in  which  relig- 
ious services  were  sometimes  held.     In  that  year  he  was  nominated 


NO  TA  BLE  MEN  OF  THE  EARLY  TIJlfES  79 

for  the  assembly  in  the  district  embracing  Ontario  and  vSteuben  coun- 
ties, (Livingston  had  not  then  been  formed,)  and  elected  by  a  vote  of 
six  hundred  and  thirty  eight  to  eleven  for  his  opponent.  This  shows 
the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  voters.  In  Albany  he  con- 
tinued to  work  for  the  interests  of  the  valley.  He  secured  legislation 
which  benefited  it,  and  made  his  colleagues  acquainted  with  its  ad- 
vantages. The  grateful  memories  of  what  he  was  and  what  he  did 
should  not  be  allowed  to  fade  into  forgetfulness. 

Nathaniel  Rochester 

Another  distinguished  man  who  gave  an  early  impulse  to  Dansville 
growth  was  Nathaniel  Rochester  (for  portrait  see  page  78)  from  whom 
the  city  of  Rochester  takes  its  name.  He  was  born  in  A^irginia  in 
1752,  resided  in  Hillsborough,  Orange  county,  N.  C,  durmg  the 
Revolutionary  war,  was  a  member  of  the  first  provincial  convention 
of  North  Carolina,  became  a  major  of  militia  in  1775  and  a  lieutenant 
colonel  in  1776,  and  in  the  latter  year  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  adopted  the  first  constitution  of  the  state.  He  held 
several  other  offices  in  North  Carolina,  among  them  those  of  deputy 
commissary  general  for  the  Continental  army  with  the  rank  of  colonel, 
member  of  assembly,  and  clerk  of  Orange  county.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  moved  to  Hagerstown,  Md.,  and  there  established  a  mercantile 
and  manufacturing  business.  There  he  held  the  offices  of  state  legis- 
lator, postmaster,  county  court  judge,  and  sheriff.  He  was  the  first 
president  of  the  Hagerstown  bank,  and  in  1808  he  was  a  presidental 
elector.  He  moved  from  Maryland  to  Dansville  to  reside  in  1810, 
having  the  year  before  purchased  a  tract  of  land  here.  His  interests 
in  Dansville  comprised  seven  hundred  acres  of  land,  a  grist  mill,  a 
saw  mill,  and  the  first  paper  mill  in  Western  New  York.  He  sold  all 
these  in  1814  for  $24,000  and  in  1815  moved  to  East  Bloomfield,  On- 
tario county.  In  1816  he  was  again  chosen  a  presidential  elector,  and 
in  1818  moved  to  Rochester,  where  he  had  acquired  large  land  in- 
terests while  in  Dansville.  It  was  chiefly  through  his  instrumentality 
that  Monroe  county  was  partitioned  from  adjoining  counties,  and  he 
was  its  first  county  clerk.  In  1822  he  was  elected  assemblyman,  and 
in  1824  became  president  of  the  Bank  of  Rochester.  He  died  in  1831, 
after  an  active,  useful  and  honored  life.  Dansville  in  less  degree 
shares  with  Rochester  the  benefits  of  his  enterprise  and  practical  wis- 
dom. William  Scott  said  that  Colonel  Rochester  was  "a  fine  type  of 
the  true  southern  gentleman.  " 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Recollections  of  Living  Old  Citizens 

Eliliu  L.  Stanley  Ninety-three  Years  Old — Mrs.  Catherine  Harrison  Ninety — 
Mrs.  Jane  Shafer  Eighty-nine — David  McNair  Eighty-three — Dr.  A.  L. 
Gilbert  Seventy-eight — B.  S.  Stone  Seventy-seven — Mrs.  Katherine 
Rochester  Shepard — Mrs.  Timothy  B.  Grant — Mrs.  Anna  Clark  Adams. 

Elihu  L.  Stanley  was  ninety-three 
years  of  age  November  11,  1901,  and 
is  the  oldest  living  citizen  of  Dans- 
ville.  Dr.  James  Faulkner,  who 
died  in  1884,  aged  ninety-four  years 
and  eight  months,  and  Mrs.  Sidney 
Stacy,  who  died  in  1885,  aged  ninety- 
seven,  were  probably  the  longest 
lived  of  any  deceased  citizens.  But 
Mr.  Stanley,  still  in  fair  health  and 
looking  like  a  man  of  seventy,  gives 
promise  of  becoming  a  centenarian. 
He  came  to  Mt.  Morris  in  1811,  and 
from  Mt.  Morris  here  in  1830  as  a 
ELIHU  L.  STANLEY.  clcrk    In     Luther  Melvin's  general 

store,  remained  about  nine  months,  went  away,  returned  the  next 
year,  and  has  resided  here  the  most  of  the  time  since.  In  1832  he 
clerked  for  Dr.  F.  W.  Clark,  who  was  in  both  the  mercantile  and  lum- 
bering business.  At  that  time  the  dry  goods  stores  sold  also  groceries 
and  drugs  and  other  articles  now  sold  in  other  kinds  of  trade.  Later 
Mr.  Stanley  opened  a  store  of  his  own  where  the  postoffice  now  stands. 
He  continued  in  the  business  only  a  few  years.  In  1845  and  1846 
he  cleared  $8,000  in  the  Woodville  mill,  and  in  1847,  bought  twelve 
acres  of  land  for  $5,000  including  shop,  dam  and  water  privilege,  on 
which  he  built  within  nine  months  the  stone  mill  now  owned  by  Frank 
G.  Hall,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  Mr.  Stanley  married  Miss  Brace,  who 
taught  a  school  for  young  children  on  the  present  site  of  the  Bunnell 
block.  His  clear  memory  recalls  the  most  of  the  farm  owners  and 
residents  along  Main  street  in  or  about  1830.  Among  the  former 
were  John  Hartman,  Amariah  Hammond,  William  Ferine,  Joshua 
Shepard,  Russell  Day,  Dr.  F.  W.  Clark,  Col.  Samuel  W.  Smith,  Mr. 
Gansvoort,  Leonard  Kuhn,  Jacob  Opp,  Mr.  McCartney,  Jacob  Welch, 
Jonathan  Barnhart,  Conrad  Welch,  Henry  Welch,  Solomon  Fenster- 
macher,  Abram  Dippy,  Samuel  Shannon,  Luther  Melvin,  Isaac  Fen- 
stermacher,  John  Wilkinson,  William  Pickell.  Some  of  the  farms  lay 
on  both  sides  of  Main  street,  and  on  the  east  side  extended  back  to 
East  hill.  Dr.  James  Faulkner  lived  on  South  street,  and  his  tract 
included  the  most  of  the  present  village  on  the  west  side  of  Main  from 
Ossian  street  up.  Thomas  McWhorter  had  a  large  farm  west  of  the 
Welch  farms,  and  a  grist  mill  on  Canaseraga  creek.       Other   residents 

80 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  LIVING  OLD  CITIZENS 


81 


along  Main  street  were  Captain  Rowley,  Dr.  P.  W.  Clark,  Philip  and 
Jonathan  kershner,  David  McCartney,  Horatio  Taggart  Eugene 
Day,  and  Joseph  Sedgwick.  There  were  only  six  brick  buildings  in 
town-Mr  Opp's,  Mr.  McCurdy's,  Captain  Rowley's,  Colonel  Smith's, 
Mr.  Barnhart  s,  and  Mr.  McCartney's.  Solomon  Fenstermacher's 
house  was  the  three-story  building  known  as  Solomon's  temple  The 
only  streets  running  back  to  East  hill  were  Ferine  and  Chestnut 
streets.     On  the  west  the  only  streets  were  Ossian,  South  and  Gibson 


-^ 


Mrs.  Jane  Shafer,    the  date  of 
whose   eighty-ninth    birthday    is 
February  9,  1902,  was  born  with 
a  twin  sister  in  a  log  house  in 
Sparta  at  the  foot  of  Culbertson's 
glen,  and  resided  in  the  town  un- 
til she  was  forty  years  old,  then 
went  away,  returned,  and  is  now 
living  on  Seward  street  with  her 
grand-niece,  Mrs.  George  Sturm. 
She  retains  her  health  and  facul- 
ties as  few  women  of  her  age  do, 
and   has  clear    memories  of   her 
childhood    days.      She    says    the 
district     school     then     was      so 
crowded  that   the  teacher  could 
not    give   much     individual     at- 
tention to  pupils.    There  seemed 
to   be  more  children  than  there 
are  now.     They   had  fun  out  of 
doors    sliding    down     the     steep 
hillside  on  sticks  of  wood;  hand- 
sleds  came  later.     It  was  danger- 
ous but  exciting,  and  great  risks 
were  run   for  the  sake  of   the   sport.     Mrs.    Shafer    remembers   the 
Indians  of  her  childhood.    They  came  along  frequently,    and  once  a 
big    chief    came    and    talked    with     her    father.       She     was     not     so 
obedient   that    she    did  not    run  away   from    home    sometimes,    and 
once  when  she  had  gone  out  into  the  woods  she  was  paralyzed  with 
fear  at  seeing  a  number  of  Indians  coming  in  single  file,  all  young  but 
an  old  squaw  who  was  leader.     They  went  by  stoically  with  eyes  look- 
ing straight  ahead,  and  scarcely  glanced  at  her.     She  could  not  move 
or  speak   until   they  were  out  of  sight,  and  then  ran  home  in  a  frenzy 
of  terror.     She  remembers  when   the  North   Presbyterian   church  of 
Sparta  was  built,  and  that  she  helped  make  the  cushions  for  the  pews. 
She   thinks  it   was  the   first  church   built  between   Cayuga  and   the 
Niagara  river.     She  also  recalls  that  after  the  division  of  the   Pres- 
byterian church  into  old  school  and  new  school,  an  old  school  Presytery 
was  formed  by  three  clergymen  in  the  North  Sparta  church.     The 


r— 

^^S!^ 

^^^^^^HjaLji^^  fj)  s 

t. 

MRS.  JANE   SHAFER 


82  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Dansville  Presbyterians  often  came  to  North  Sparta  to  meeting  before 
they  built  a  church  for  themselves.  Mrs.  Shafer  remembers  well  the 
Rev.  Littlejohn,  and  his  queer  methods  as  a  preacher  and  revivalist, 
and  says  the  people  afterward  wondered  that  he  could  influence  them 
as  he  did  with  his  talking-  gifts  and  aggressive  eccentricities.  They 
afterward  discovered  that  he  was  immoral.  Mrs.  Shafer  remembers 
that  there  was  one  Indian  girl  called  "Laughing  Molly,"  who  made  a 
great  fuss  over  her  and  her  twin  sister.  Finally  she  didn't  come  any 
more,  and  they  were  told  that  the  envious  Indians  had  burned  her  as 
a  witch.  They  said  she  bewitched  the  white  people  to  give  her  pres- 
ents. Mrs.  Shafer's  father  had  a  grist  mill  on  the  glen  stream,  and 
one  day  a  cloud-burst  flooded  the  glen  so  as  to  carry  away  his  mill, 
cover  much  of  the  flats  below  with  drift-wood  and  stones,  and  change 
the  lower  course  of  the  stream.  He  rebuilt  his  mill,  and  later  Mr. 
Culbertson  built  a  fulling  mill  on  the  stream.  Mrs.  Shafer  knew  Wil- 
liam Scott  who  worked  with  Millard  Fillmore,  afterward  President,  in 
a  woolen  mill  near  Woodville.  Mr.  Hungerford  was  the  man  for  whom 
they  worked,  and  he  was  so  mean  to  them  that  they  did  not  stay  with 
him  long. 


David  McNair  was  born  in  1818,  and  his  eighty-three  years  have 
not  weakened  his  faculties  or  dimmed  his  memory.  His  farm  of  300 
acres  is  a  short  distance  from  Dansville,  and  he  has  watched  its 
growth  and  changes  from  youth  until  now.  He  has  successfully  en- 
gaged in  sheep  husbandry,  grain  raising  and  dairying,  and  his  dairy 
now  supplies  many  Dansville  families  with  milk.  His  father",  Samuel 
McNair,  moved  from  the  Lehigh  fork  of  the  Delaware  river  in  1804, 
after  making  three  or  four  trips  here  on  horseback  in  previous  years. 
He  married  Margaret  Mann  of  Montgomery  county.  Pa.,  the  next 
year.  They  had  seven  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  David  was 
the  youngest  and  is  the  only  survivor.  He  remembers  his  father  told 
him  that  he  helped  organize  the  South  Sparta  Presbyterian  church, 
that  there  was  a  division  of  opinion  among  the  organizers  as  to  the 
location  of  the  building,  and  that  this  was  finally  decided  by  lot.  The 
building  was  erected  in  1819,  and  the  present  building  is  that  re- 
modeled. Rev.  Mr.  Gray  was  the  first  preacher,  an  itinerant  who 
afterwards  settled  near  the  church  and  preached  there  many  years. 
Mr.  McNair  remembers  that  he  once  rebuked  some  boys,  who  were  en- 
joying the  playfulness  of  some  dogs  near  the  church,  for  laughing  on 
Sunday.  Another  illustration  of  the  religious  rigidity  of  his  boyhood 
days  was  the  rebuke  of  his  uncle  John  to  a  man  who  was  driving  an  ox 
team  home  from  the  mill  on  Sunday,  because  he  could  not  get  his 
grain  ground  in  time  to  get  away  on  Saturday  evening.  "You  are 
wickedly  breaking  the  Sabbath  day,"  said  the  uncle,  and  insisted  upon 
the  wickedness  after  the  man  had  explained.  Finally  the  latter  got 
angry,  and  drove  uncle  John  away  with  his  gad.  The  eccentric  re- 
vivalist, Littlejohn,  held  successful  meetings  in  and  around  Dansville 
about  1840,  and  Mr.  McNair  remembers  that  he  once  pointed  his 
finger  at  a  lively  girl  in  the  gallery  and  said:  "You  are  going  to  hell." 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF LIVLVC  OLD  CITIZENS  83 

Mrs.    Catherine     Harrison, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Hartman, 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers,  was 
ninety   years   old  October  24, 
l'»(ll,    and    is     still     vigorous 
enough  to  walk  a  mile  easily, 
while  her  sight,    hearing   and 
memory  are  good.     Since  her 
marriage  at  the  age  of  twenty 
she    has   lived    in    the    house 
where  she  now   is,    near    the 
Bradner  place  on  lower   Main 
street.     She  was  born  in  a  log 
house  across  the   street.     She 
has  distinct  recollections  of  her 
early  girlhood,  and  the  things 
she    then   saw.     The    Indians 
were  numerous,    and   used    to 
come  in  groups,  and   in   sum- 
mer sleep  on  the  stoop   of   her 
father's  house,  and    in   winter 
around  tht  kitchen  fire.   When 
they    came    in    summer    they 
were  often  given    milk,    bread 
and  pork,  of  which  they   were 
very  fond,  and  when  the  hunt- 
ing season  came  would  bring 
quarters  or  halves  of  venison, 
and   soemtimes  a   whole    car- 
cass,   as    return     gifts.      Mrs. 
Harrison  remembers  a  big  wheat  field  of  William   Perine's  and   much 
forest  on  the  east  side  of  Mai  a  street,  and  on  the  west  side,    back    of 
her  father's  house,  a  wide  meadow  and   some   thick   pine   woods,    and 
south,  nearly  to  Liberty  street,   her  father's   long   orchard    of   apple, 
peach,  and  cherry  trees.    Among  the  pines  were  a  great  many  rabbits. 
Rail  fences  were  on  each  side  of  Main  street.   There  were  no  churches, 
and  the  occasional  preaching  was   in   a  school   house  on   the  lot  just 
south  of  the  Livingston  hotel.     Her  father  gave  the  lot  on   which   the 
German  Lutheran  church  is  built.     Her   mother   pat    her   dough   to 
rise  in  bread  baskets  made  of  twists  of  rye  straw  sewed  together.    The 
fire  places  and  ovens  were  constructed  of  stones,  as  there  were  no  brick 
to  be  had.   They  had  to  go  to  Big  Tree  (Geneseo)  or  Bath  for  groceries. 


MRS.   CATHERINE   HARRISON 


je/ 


B.  S.  Stone  of  Stone's  Falls  now  in  his  seventy-seventh  year  gives 
us  the  following  reminiscences,  aided  by  memoranda  which  he  had 
written  in  the  early  days:  March  30,  1839,  he  went  to  a  militia  elec- 
tion of  officers  at  Driesbach's.  William  S.  Fullerton  was  chosen 
colonel,  John  Magee  lieutenant  colonel  and  John  A.  Ferine  major. 
April  29  he  was  elected  captain  of  the  Dansville  company,  Daniel 
Marts  lieutenant  and  Alonzo  Truesdale  ensign.  This  company  elec- 
tion was  set  aside  on  the  ground  of  informality,  and  another  election 


84 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


was  held  June  1,  when  Mr.  Stone  was  re-elected.  He  says:  "It  cost 
me  $3.50  to  treat  the  crowd. "  August  25  he  went  to  Richmond  to 
general  training.  September  2  and  10  he  went  to  Dansville  and  cap- 
tained the  company.  November  14,  1842,  he  went  to  Dansville,  and 
while  at  the  canal,  the  second  floor  of  the  storehouse  close  by  broke 
from  its  weight  of  corn  and  flour  which  rushed  down  upon  I.  Z.  Reed 
and  Joseph  Amos.  Mr.  Reed  was  badly  injured  and  Mr.  Amos  was 
dead  when  his  body  was  uncovered.  Proctor's  edge  tool  shop  was 
built  at  Stone's  Falls  in  1839.  S.  G.  Dorr's  grist  mill  at  Rogersville 
was  burnt  in  1838,  probably  by  an  incendiary.  Old  Mr.  Dorr  died 
suddenly  while  sawing  wood  in  May  1843,  aged  eighty-eight. 

While  in  Michigan  in  December,  1838,  Mr.  Stone  saw  a  fight  between 
the  Patriots  and  Royalists  at  Sandwich,  across  the  river  from  Detroit. 
The  barracks  and  a  steamboat  at  the  wharf  were  burned.  January  14, 
1840,  Mr.  Stone,  R.  Brail,  J.  P.  Faulkner,  S.  G.  Dorr,  and  J.  B. 
Lemen  went  together  to  the  "plaster  bed"  at  Caledonia,  twenty 
miles  distant,  for  plaster,  and  each  brought  back  a  ton.  January  19, 
Rev.  Mr.  Littlejohn  was  holding  protracted  meetings  at  South 
Dansville. 


Dr.  Augustus  L.  Gilbert  of 
North  Cohocton  is  in  his  seventy- 
eighth  year.  He  came  to  Dans- 
ville from  Cohocton  with  his  father 
in  1841,  and  the  family  lived  here 
until  1846,  when  they  returned  to 
North  Cohocton.  The  doctor's 
recollections  of  that  period  are  in- 
teresting. His  father  was  a  gen- 
eral merchant,  and  occupied  the 
Joshua  Shepard  store.  Other 
merchants  whom  he  remembers 
were  S.  L.  Barrett  &  Bros.,  Rob- 
ert S.  Faulkner,  dry  goods;  Goun- 
drv  &  Kern,  Lester  Bradner,  Mat- 
thew and  David  McCartney,  Fred 
Kuhn,  J.  W.  Brown  and  Mr.  Hub- 
bard, general  stores;  Merritt 
Brown  &  Son,  hardware;  Edward 
Niles,  drugs.  George  Hyland  was 
manufacturing  hats  and  fur  goods, 
and  was  the  leading  buyer  of  skins.  George  C.  Taylor  kept  the 
American  hotel,  corner  of  Main  and  Ossian.  The  hotel  where  the 
Livingston  now  is  was  built  about  1840  or  1841,  and  was  kept  by  a 
Mr.  Jennings.  Soon  there  was  a  great  temperance  movement  and 
Landlord  Jennings  professed  to  be  converted,  and  announced  that  he 
would  henceforth  keep  a  temperance  house.  After  his  liquors  disap- 
peared a  great  out-door  banquet  was  prepared  by  the  ladies  in  an 
orchard  and  was  attended  by  over  400  people.  The  proceeds  were 
large  and  were  handed  to  Mr.  Jennings  as  a  reward  for  the  temperance 


DR.  AUGUSTUS   L.  GILBERT 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  LIVING  OLD  CITIZENS  85 

stand  he  had  taken.  But  he  soon  backslid,  and  sold  liquor  again. 
Dr.  Gilbert  recollects  distinctly  the  local  canal  trouble  and  the  busi- 
ness boom  that  followed.  The  story  of  these  is  partly  told  in  chapter 
VI.  The  doctor  saw  the  crowd  of  men  go  to  the  west  end  of  the  sub- 
branch  with  pick-axes,  shovels,  etc.,  to  make  the  illegal  opening 
which  should  let  the  water  in,  and  saw  them  come  back  in  the  even- 
ing, after  they  had  finished  the  job,  singing  uproariously  a  song  with 
chorus  which  had  been  composed  for  the  occasion.  Then  all  the 
church  bells  were  rung,  and  there  was  a  hilarious  time.  The  lumber 
and  timber  that  came  in  for  shipment  were  astonishing.  There  were 
500  acres  of  splendid  pines  between  here  and  Wayland,  and  the  most 
of  them  were  cut  into  spars  sixty  or  more  feet  long,  and  floated  down 
the  canal  to  Rochester  in  rafts.  Other  spars  were  lifted  in  the  woods 
and  fastened  so  that  two  men  with  a  cross-cut  saw — one  above  and 
one  below — could  saw  them  into  four-inch  planks,  which  were  mostly 
used  in  building  canal  bridges.  John  Goundry  and  C.  R.  Kern,  or 
the  firm  of  Goundry  &  Kern,  had  a  large  lumber  yard  n^ar  the  pres- 
ent Shepard  block  which  was  covered  with  very  high  piles  of  lumber, 
and  along  the  canal  were  similar  yards.  Clear  pine  lumber  then  sold 
for  four  dollars  a  thousand,  and  shingles  for  one  dollar  to  $1.25  a 
thousand.  Dr.  Gilbert  heard  the  revivalist  Littlejohn  at  Union 
Corners  and  in  Dansville  at  the  Presbyterian  church  on  the  square. 
At  the  Corners  he  came  into  the  church  one  evening  when  some  ladies 
were  praying  in  low  tones,  and  said:  "A  few  more  prayers  like  these 
would  freeze  hell  over."  At  first  Littlejohn  was  successful  in  getting 
converts  here,  but  charges  of  immorality  were  made  against  him  by 
two  women,  and  he  had  to  leave.  He  went  to  Allegany  county,  but 
his  reputation  followed  him,  and  he  was  finally  tried  in  the  courts  and 
found  guilty.  A  powerful  but  sucessful  revivalist  named  Adams  held 
meetings  in  the  Methodist  church  here,  in  Cohocton  and  other  places. 
He  would  take  off  his  coat  and  preach  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  and  would 
try  to  make  all  declare  by  standing  up,  whether  they  were  for  God  or 
the  devil.  This  was  about  1849.  The  political  Tippecanoe  campaign 
of  1840  between  Harrison  and  Van  Buren  was  exciting  beyond  any- 
thing before  or  since.  There  was  a  big  log  cabin  erected  near  the 
present  site  of  William  Kramer's  store.  Many  coon  skins  were  nailed 
on  the  outside,  and  there  was  a  barrel  of  hard  cider  at  the  door  from 
which  all  could  help  themselves.  A  mass  meeting  out  of  doors  drew 
an  immense  crowd,  many  coming  from  distant  towns.  There  were 
long  wagons  with  open  floors  on  which  ladies  sat  dressed  in  white,  and 
on  the  longest  one,  from  another  town,  was  a  log  cabin.  The  meet- 
ing was  eloquently  addressed  by  Hugh  S.  Legar  of  South  Carolina. 
Another  exciting  and  showy  campaign  was  that  of  1844  between  Clay 
and  Polk.  The  doctor  recalls  Major  Van  Campen,  who  used  to  come 
and  sit  in  his  father's  store  and  relate  his  experiences  as  a  soldier  and 
scout.  They  were  thrilling  and  he  was  an  excellent  and  charming 
old  man.  General  training,  with  Chester  Bradley  as  colonel,  was  a 
great  occasion,  and  after  the  parade  and  drill  the  colonel  would  escort 
parties  to  and  through  the  great  paper  mill  of  the  Bradleys  near  the 
California  house.  Bradley  &  Sons  made  foolscap  paper  mostly,  and 
ruled  it  with  strings.  They  also  made  two  or  three  grades  of  coarse 
paper.     All  the  paper  was  then  made  by  hand. 


86 


DAN&VtLLE  OF  THE  PAST 


Dr.  Gilbert  came  back  to  Dansville  in  1S52,  after  his  graduation  as 
a  physician,  and  practiced  two  years;  and  again  in  1874,  and  prac- 
ticed four  years.  The  rest  of  his  practice  except  a  year  in  Michigan 
and  a  year  in  Buffalo  has  been  in  and  around  Cohocton. 


j£^ 


Mrs.  Anna  Clark  Adams  furnishes 
some  interesting  recollections,  partly 
from  the  lips  of  her  father.  Dr.  W.  F. 
Clark,  who  came  to  Dansville  with  his 
wife  and  one  child  in  1814  and  com- 
menced the  practice  ot  medicine.  He 
found  here  one  other  physician.  Dr. 
James  Faulkner,  and  possibly  a  Dr. 
Sholl,  who  lived  and  died  here  in  the 
early  days.  After  a  few  years  Dr. 
Clark  stopped  his  professional  work 
on  account  of  his  health.  There  was 
a  great  lumber  trade  here,  and  he 
opened  a  lumber  yard  with  his  brother, 
Calvin  E.  Clark,  and  they  started 
a  general  store.  He  also  put  an  ash- 
ery  in  operation,  which  was  man- 
aged by  Jacob  Welch.  On  land 
bought  of  Colonel  Rochester  he  built 
his  first  Dansville  home  and  a  store. 
After  a  few  years  he  built  a  new  and 
larger  store  where  the  Dyer  block 
now  stands.  Many  years  later  Dr. 
Clark  built  the  brick  block  now  owned  by  the  Dyer  Brothers. 
Elizabeth  street  was  so  named  because  there  was  a  daughter  with  that 
name  in  every  house  on  the  street,  six  in  all.  Dr.  Clark  was  influ- 
ential in  getting  Dansville  and  adjacent  territory  set  off  into  Living- 
ston county,  and  when  the  news  of  the  consummation  of  this  scheme 
was  received,  Dansville  celebrated  with  bonfires  and  house  illumina- 
tions, and  Dr.  Clark  was  taken  from  his  house  and  carried  down  the 
street  on  the  shoulders  of  citizens.  Mrs.  Adams  thinks  the  Methodist 
society  was  the  first  church  society  organized  in  Dansville,  and  next 
came  the  Presbyterian.  Rev.  Silas  Pratt  was  either  the  first  or  second 
minister  in  charge  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Meetings  were  held 
in  what  was  then  "the  new  school  house. "  During  Mr.  Pratt's  pas- 
torate Mrs.  Adams's  mother,  wife  of  Dr.  Clark,  started  the  first  Sun- 
day school  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  which  was  probably  the  first  in 
the  village.  The  sessions  were  held  in  her  home,  and  she  was  the  only 
teacher.  The  first  teachers  in  the  academy  on  the  square  were  Mr. 
Crocker,  Mr.  Fullerton,  Miss  Niles,  and  Miss  Peck.  There  were  some 
exciting  times  in  that  academy.  The  first  volume  written  in  Dans- 
ville was  the  life  of  an  old  resident  named  Franklin,  and  was  by  Rev. 
John  Hubbard,  who  afterwards  wrote  the  life  of  Major  VanCampen. 
Mrs.    Katherine    Rochester    Shepard,    widow    of   the   late    Charles 


DR.  WILLIS  F.  CLARK 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  LIV/NC  OLD  CITIZENS  87 

Shepard,  and  granddaughter  of  Colonel  Nathaniel  Rochester,  writes 
from  Seattle,  Washington,  a  letter  of  interest  from  which  some  facts 
are  selected.  When  Joshua  Shepard  came  to  Dansville  he  established 
a  general  store  in  partnership  with  Lester  Bradner  just  south  of  the 
present  Livingston  hotel.  In  1817  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Hurlbut 
of  Arkport.  About  1820  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Sparta  which  is  now 
known  as  the  Galbraith  farm.  He  lived  there  three  years,  and  then 
returned  to  Dansville  to  occupy  his  new  home,  now  known  as  the 
Shepard  homestead.  This  was  completed  in  1824.  Elizabeth  Shepard 
held  the  twenty-four  locust  trees  now  encircling  the  residence  while 
they  were  being  planted.  Sometime  prior  to  this  Mr.  Shepard  had 
bought  what  was  known  in  the  family  as  "the  38-acre  farm,"  ex- 
tending from  Main  street  to  the  present  Lackawanna  railroad,  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Ferine  street,  then  a  mere  lane,  the  southern  boundary 
being  just  south  of  the  present  Shepard  block.  It  was  afterward  cut 
into  lots  and  most  of  it  sold.  One  of  the  latest  sales  was  the  right  of 
way  to  the  Lackawanna  railroad.  Mrs.  Shepard  has  a  copy  of  the 
deed  of  gift  by  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  Shepard  in  July,  1829,  of  the 
ground  occupied  by  the  First  Presbyterian  church  just  north  of  the 
Shepard  block,  and  burned  in  the  great  fire  of  1854.  The  husband 
died  in  1829  and  the  wife  in  1870.  Charles  Shepard  donated  a  part 
of  the  land  for  the  Dansville  Seminary.  "You  probably  know,"  Mrs. 
Shepard  writes,  "that  the  public  square  upon  which  several  of  the 
churches  are  built,  was  given  to  the  village  by  my  grandfather,  Col. 
Nathaniel  Rochester.  I  have  a  distinct  recollection  of  the  first  church 
service  I  attended  in  Dansville,  shortly  after  my  marriage  in  1846.  It 
was  held  in  the  upper  school  district  in  the  schoolhouse  standing  upon 
the  square.  St.  Peter's  parish  had  been  already  organized  and  the 
church  was,  I  think,  in  the  course  of  erection  at  this  time.  Rev. 
Mr.  Buell  was  missionary  in  charge.  On  entering  the  school  house 
we  found  the  men  sitting  on  one  side  of  the  building  and  the  women 
upon  the  other.  It  made  a  great  impression  upon  me  as  I  had  never 
before  seen  anything  so  primitive."  (Mrs.  Shepard  died  at  Seattle 
May  20,  1902,  and  her  remains  with  those  of  her  husband  were 
brought  to  Dansville  and  buried  in  Greenmount  cemetery  May  27.) 

From  data  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  T.  B.  Grant  and  her  recollec- 
tions, some  facts  of  interest  are  gathered.  Her  mother  was  the  adopted 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Rowley,  and  her  father  was  the  son  of  Major 
Isaac  Smith.  Mr.'  Rowley  and  his  wife  came  to  Dansville  from 
Stephentown,  N.  Y.,  on  horseback  in  1805,  when  he  was  thirty-two 
years  old,  bought  a  large  tract  of  land,  and  immediately  put  up  the 
first  brick  building  of  the  village — a  tavern  almost  at  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Exchange  streets.  After  conducting  it  a  few  years  he 
leased  it,  and  afterward  made  a  business  of  buying  and  selling  land 
until  he  died  in  1833.  Mary  McCulloch,  adopted  by  him  and  his  wife 
when  a  child,  and  the  mother  of  Mrs.  T.  B.  Grant  and  Mrs.  S.  P. 
Williams,  was  his  niece  on  her  mother's  side,  and  her  father,  Colonel 
George  McCulloch,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of   Painted  Post.      After 


88  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Mr.  Rowley  left  the  brick  tavern  he  built  and  lived  in  until  he  died, 
the  house  occupied  by  Dr.  Crisfield,  but  now  with  an  added  story  and 
otherwise  reconstructed.  Col.  Samuel  W.  Smith,  father  of  Mrs.  Grant 
and  Mrs.  Williams,  came  in  1819  to  Dansville  from  Avon,  where  his 
father  had  built  and  kept  the  famous  Forest  Inn.  He  married  Mary 
Rowley  (McCulloch)  the  same  year.  He  was  a  merchant  here  for 
thirty  years,  became  owner  of  a  good  deal  of  land  in  the  village,  was 
elected  member  of  assembly  in  1832,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  first 
Republican  state  convention  held  in  Syracuse.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  first  loaned  and  then  gave 
the  church  $2,000  for  the  erection  of  its  first  house  of  worship.  He 
sold  the  brick  tavern,  which  came  into  his  possession  through  his 
marriage,  to  James  McNair. 


CHAPTF.R  IX 
Some  Cxcitixig  and  Interesting  Events 

Bursting  of  W;itei- from  East  Hill — ^The  Devil's  Hole — Eclipse  of  the  Sun — 
Dansville  Volunteers  Descend  upon  Canada — Rain  and  Cloudburst  of  1813 
— Wind  Storm  of  1842 — The  Wood  Poisoning — Shooting  of  John  Haas — 
Remains  of  a  Mastadon  Found — Three  Most  Destructive  Fires — Other 
Fires — Burning  of  "Our   Home." 

In  1796  the  settlers  heard  a  sound  like  a  short  chip  of  thunder  or 
the  discharge  of  a  great  cannon,  followed  by  the  rushing  noise  of 
water.  Then  they  discovered  that  a  new  stream  was  pouring  from 
the  eastern  hillside,  and  on  further  inspection  that  it  had  burst 
through  the  rocks  with  such  force  as  to  throw  out  stones  weighing 
from  200  to  300  pounds,  and  cast  an  oak  tree  2,'-  feet  in  diameter 
down  the  hill  butt  foremost,  and  split  the  hill  from  north  to  south. 
Thus  was  born  the  "All  Healing  Spring"  of  the  Sanatorium,  and 
the  stream  which  pours  from  it,  which  has  diminished  with  the  lapse 
of  time.  In  1841  it  turned  the  water-wheels  of  a  tannery.  But  for  it 
Our  Home  on  the  Hillside  and  the  Sanatorium  would  never  have  been 
erected. 

.";  The  fissure  where  the  seam  was  witle.st,  nearly  directly  above  the 
present  flowing  spring,  was  long  known  as  the  Devil's  Hole.  A  con- 
tributor to  the  Dansville  Advertiser  of  Sept.  30,  1875,  says  that  about 
forty-two  years  before  there  were  strange  lights  seen  flitting  hither 
and  thither  around  the  Devil's  Hole  on  dark  nights.  The  people 
were  quite  excited,  in  fact  scared,  and  some  of  them  really  thought 
the  devil  and  his  imps  were  taking  an  airing  and  having  a  jolly  time. 
The  question  of  an  exploration  of  the  hole  was  agitated,  laut  it  was 
sometime  before  men  having  sufficient  nerve  volunteered.  Finally, 
Cyrus  B.  Cook,  Dr.  L.  N.  Cook's  oldest  son,  decided  to  do  it. 
On  the  day  appointed,  j\Ir.  Cook,  Dr.  Cook,  Esquire  Russell  Day, 
"Adrian"  and  a  few  others  went  up  the  hill  equipped  for  the  work. 
Cyrus  put  on  overalls  and  a  jacket  with  tight  sleeves  and  tied  a  hand- 
kerchief about  his  head.  Two  stout  straps  were  buckled  over  each 
shoulder  and  around  his  body  and  to  this  was  attached  a  long  stout 
rope.  He  then  took  a  lighted  candle  and  started.  Dr.  Cook  had  hold 
of  the  rope  close  to  the  entrance,  Russell  Day  next  and  then  the  rest 
of  the  company.  The  descent  was  gradual.  He  walked  erect  with  a 
foot  on  either  side  of  the  chasm  until  he  came  to  a  place  so  small 
that  he  would  have  to  lay  down  and  worm  himself  through.  He 
prudently  decided  to  return.  A  measurement  of  the  rope  showed 
that  he  had  gone  just  forty-four  feet.  Stones  dropped  in  the  chasm 
splashed  in  water  some  distance  below.  Some  cattle  having  fallen 
into  the  hole  it  was  finally  filled  up.  That  there  was  a  large  body  of 
water  in  the  hillside  was  thought  to  be  sufficiently  proven.  After  the 
exploration  it  was  found  that  there  was  nothing  supernatural  or  in- 
fernal about  the  strange  lights,  that  some  mischievous  young  men  had 
evolved  the  "my.stery"  with  fireballs. 


90  DANS VILLE  OF  THE  PA S T 

The  first  settlers  witnessed  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  on  June  16, 
1806,  through  a  perfectly  clear  atmosphere.  As  the  moon  gradually 
obscured  the  sun  the  bright  day  darkened  until  at  11:15  o'clock,  the 
first  moment  of  totality,  it  was  a  deep  twilight.  The  total  obscuration 
lasted  three  minutes.  The  birds  stopped  singing,  the  hens  went  to 
roost,  bats  flew  from  their  holes,  and  business  was  suspended.  The 
mercury  dropped  several  degrees,  and  dew  fell.  The  rare  spectacle 
terrified  the  Indians,  who  ran  to  and  fro,  exclaiming  and  grunting. 
They  were  the  more  astounded  because  some  of  them  had  been  told  by 
their  white  neighbors  the  almanac  time  when  the  sun  would  grow 
black,  and  some  had  made  bets  that  it  would  not. 

In  1812,  after  war  was  declared  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  Gen.  Smyth  planned  a  descent  upon  Canada,  and 
issued  a  flaming  proclamation  from  Bulfalo  calling  for  volunteers.  In 
response  to  this  call  a  company  of  about  thirty  was  raised  in  this  vil- 
lage, captained  by  William  B.  Rochester,  and  Sparta  and  Groveland 
furnished  another  company,  captained  by  James  Rosebrugh.  The 
two  companies  went  on  foot  to  Buffalo,  were  mustered  in  as  infantry, 
marched  to  Black  Rock  and  were  sent  on  board  boats,  an  advance 
force  having  already  been  sent  across  the  river.  A  few  hours  after- 
ward, while  yet  on  the  boats  they  were  informed  that  the  expedition 
was  abandoned,  and  soon  were  ordered  back  to  their  homes.  Gen. 
Porter  published  Gen.  Smyth  as  a  coward  for  his  braggart  and  futile 
performance,  the  soldiers  were  indignant,  and  the  government  quick- 
ly relieved  him  of  his  command.  Later  he  spent  a  night  at  Stout's 
tavern  in  Dansville,  where  he  was  treated  by  the  citizens  with  silent 
contempt. 

In  June,  1813,  there  was  a  rain  of  four  days,  ending  in  a  cloud 
burst  on  June  19,  which  swept  away  William  D.  McNair's  stone 
grist  mill  on  Stony  brook.  Col.  Rochester's  saw  mill  dam  on  Mill 
brook,  and  Benjamin's  Hungerford's  carding  mill  on  Duncan  creek  in 
West  Sparta.  The  flood  carried  mill  stones  several  rods  and  buried 
them  so  deep  in  sand  and  gravel  that  they  were  not  discovered  for 
many  years.  It  is  believed  to  have  been  the  most  remarkable  rain 
storm  ever  known  in  the  county. 

In  August,  1842,  an  ominous  roar  was  heard,  and  soon  afterward  a 
storm  from  the  southwest  struck  the  village.  The  thunder  was  almost 
continuous,  and  the  wind  of  such  force  that  it  tore  shingles  from  the 
roofs,  leveled  George  Hyland's  three-story  hotel  at  the  corner  of  Canal 
and  South  streets,  Joseph  Fenstermacher's  two-story  house,  and 
moved  several  other  buildings  from  their  foundations.  The  air  was 
filled  with  debris,  and  the  people  in  the  streets  were  obliged  to  run 
for  shelter  or  catch  hold  of  something  to  keep  their  footing.  It  was  a 
fearful  twenty  minutes — for  the  storm  was  over  in  that  time — and 
nothing  of  the  kind  approaching  it  in  violence  has  since  visited  Dans- 
ville. 

The  cholera  visitation  at  Sandy  Hill  in  1834  caused  widespread 
alarm  and  sympathy,  and  resulted  in  many  deaths.  It  was  graphical- 
ly described  in  a  long  communication  by  B.  S.  Stone  of  Stone's  Falls, 
to  the  Advertiser  of  May  10,  1877.  In  August  of  that  year  John  Brail 
and  another  man  drove  teams  to  Buffalo  to  bring  to  the  Hill  four 
families  of  German  emigrants.     They  had  come  from  New  York  City 


SO.UE  EXCITIXG  A  ND  IN  T/iRRS  TING  E I  'ENTS         ')1 

by  canal,  and  there  was  a  fatal  case  of  cholera  on  the  boat.  The 
clothing  of  the  dead  man  was  packed  in  an  iron-bound  chest  to  be 
cleansed  when  convenient.  This  bo.K  was  brought  with  the  si.xteen  or 
eighteen  emigrants  and  their  effects  to  Sandy  Hill,  and  Mr.  Brail 
established  them  in  his  old  log  house.  Mrs.  Brail  kindly  helped  the 
new-comers  in  their  washing,  and  it  was  afterward  ascertained  that 
the  clothing  washed  included  the  cholera  clothes  of  the  chest.  The 
same  evening  she  was  taken  sick,  and  died  the  next  day,  Wednesday, 
Aug.  24.  Dansville  doctors  pronounced  the  disease  a  severe  case  of 
cholera  morbus.  On  Saturday  the  two  daughters  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Brail  were  taken  sick.  One  of  them  died  six  hours  afterward,  but  the 
other  recovered.  The  doctors  then  knew  that  the  disease  was  cholera, 
and  vainly  tried  to  stay  the  spread  of  the  contagion.  Several  neigh- 
bors took  their  lives  in  their  hands  and  buried  the  dead  and  ministered 
to  the  sick,  and  most  of  them  contracted  the  disease  in  their  humane 
and  heroic  efforts.  Among  these  were  Samuel  Lemen,  Zara  Blake, 
Samuel  G.  Dorr,  Michael  Driesbach,  Rufus  Stone,  Joseph  Acomb,  An- 
drew Brail  and  John  Brail,  Jr.  Mr.  Brail's  son  George  was  the  third 
victim,  two  days  after  the  death  of  his  sister.  The  old  school  house 
was  turned  into  an  undertaker's  shop.  A  panic  pervaded  the  settle- 
ment, and  extended  to  other  settlements.  Within  twelve  days  nearly 
two-thirds  of  the  emigrants  in  the  log  house  were  dead,  including  a 
Mrs.  Kerch  and  six  of  her  children.  The  rest  of  the  sick  were  moved 
on  stretchers  to  shanties  in  the  woods.  The  fatalities  continued,  and 
coffins  were  made  in  the  evenings  at  Rufus  Stone's  house.  September 
IS  Mr.  Acomb  died,  and  one  week  afterward  the  last  victim,  Rebecca 
Decker,  was  buried.  The  number  of  deaths  from  the  disease  is  not 
recorded.  It  was  of  such  a  malignant  character  that  the  sick  suffered 
excruciating  agonies,  and  permanently  injured  the  health  of  the  few 
who  recovered  from  it. 

In  May,  1855,  David  J.  Wood,  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of 
Dansville,  died  suddenly  while  his  wife  and  two  children  were  absent. 
In  two  or  three  weeks  these  were  all  taken  sick  and  Mrs.  Wood  died. 
It  was  found  that  Mr.  Wood  left  no  property,  although  he  had  said  on 
his  deathbed  that  he  was  worth  several  thousand  dollars.  The  cir- 
cumstances were  so  peculiar  that  the  bodies  of  the  dead  husband  and 
wife  were  exhumed,  and  a  chemical  analysis  showed  traces  of  poison 
in  their  stomachs.  The  brother  of  Mr.  Wood,  Isaac  L. ,  was  sus- 
pected, arrested,  tried,  found  guilty  and  hung  at  Geneseo,  July  9, 
1858.     The  trial  was  long  and  sensational. 

On  July  4,  1873,  Dr.  S.  L.  Ellis  shot  John  W.  Haas  dead  in  a 
back  room  of  LaRue's  jewelry  store  in  the  Hyland  block.  The  two 
men  had  had  several  altercations  about  a  woman,  and  were  having 
one  when  the  fatal  shot  was  fired.  The  deed  was  the  talk  of 
the  town  for  many  days.  Dr.  Ellis  gave  himself  up,  claiming  that 
he  had  fired  in  self-defense  when  Haas  raised  a  chair  to  brain  him. 
The  exciting  trial  commenced  November  9,  1873,  and  continued  sev- 
eral days,  when  Dr.  Ellis  was  acquitted. 

In  1874  Edward  Whiteman  living  two  miles  east  of  Dansville,  while 
digging  a  ditch  through  a  marshy  place  discovered  some  bones  which 
proved  to  be  the  remains  of  a  mastodon  giganteus.  Prof.  Jerome 
Allen  of  Geneseo,  Dr.  F.  M.  Ferine  and  a  representative  of  the  Dans- 


92  DANS VILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

ville  Advertiser  went  to  the  spot  and  made  a  careful  examination  of 
the  bones,  and  subsequently  other  bones  were  exhumed  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  Ferine.  From  the  section  of  tusk  obtained,  measur- 
ing over  9  feet  in  length  and  25  inches  in  circumference.  Prof.  Allen 
estimated  that  the  tusk  was  14  feet  long.  Two  teeth  were  found 
weighing  respectively  5  pounds  10  ounces  and  5  pounds  3  ounces, 
which  were  each  7  inches  long,  more  than  4  inches  wide  and  Tyi 
inches  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  roots.  There  was  a  piece  of 
leg  bone  35  inches  long  and  10  inches  thick  which  weighed  28  pounds, 
and  there  was  a  piece  of  rib  38  inches  long  and  3^  inches  thick.  The 
vertebra  apart  from  its  connections  was  4^  inches  thick.  The  enor- 
mous animal  whose  flesh  once  covered  these  bones  was,  according  to 
Prof.  Allen,  the  third  one  of  its  species  whose  remains  had  been  ex- 
humed in  this  country.  The  bones  were  placed  on  exhibition  in 
Dansville  by  Dr.  Perine  and  were  more  than  a  nine  days'  wonder. 


DANSVILLE'S  OLD  FIRE  ENGINE 


Three  of  the  most  disastrous  fires  that  ever  afflicted  Dansville  took 
place  in  the  50's.  The  first,  in  1854.  The  fire  broke  out  at  2 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  March  31,  in  the  gun  shop  of 
William  Roberts  on  the  second  floor  of  the  hardware  store  of  M.  Gil- 
man  and  brother,  a  two-story  wooden  building  on  the  present  site  of 
Spinning  &  Uhl's  dry  good  store.  A  high  south  wind  prevailed  and 
the  fire  swept  northward  with  fearful  rapidity  until  the  entire  business 
portion  of  the  village  on  both  sides  of  Main  north  of  the  point  where 
the  fire  originated  was  burned.  Goods  deposited  in  the  street  or  on 
the  opposite  side  in  the  early  stages  of  the  fire,  were  burned  before 
they  could  be  removed,  and  the  fire  gained  such  force  that  when  the 
Shepard  block  was  reached  the  brick  buildings  fairly  melted  down. 
The  Herald  building  owned  by  Orville  Tousey  which  stood  next  south 
of  the  Gilman  building  was  slightly  damaged  by  the  fire  and  J.  G. 
Sprague's  warehouse  in  rear  of  store  was  burned  with  house  of  H. 
Kershner.  The  principal  sufferers  on  the  west  side  of  Main  street 
were:  M.  Gilman  store  and  goods,  William  Roberts  gun  shop,  Wil- 
liam Brown  &  Son  bakery,  Mrs  Stacy  milliner,  American  hotel  block 
with  G.  Hyland's  hat  store,  J.  Lauterborn  shoeshop,  C.  Meng  hat 
store,  O.  T.  Crane  crockery  store,  C.  Renner  barber,  D.  Porter  land- 
lord of  hotel,  W.  C.  Bryant  dry  goods,  McCartney  &  Edwards  dry 
goods,  Bradner  &  Welch  dry  goods,  Mrs.  Brown  grocery,  M.  Davis 
dwelling  and  store  occupied  by  J.  Gilliam  whips,  H.  T.  Stacy  grocery, 
S.  S.  Stacy  cigars,  S.  B.  Johnson  grocery,  F.  Collet  cigars,  D.  Bunnell 
store,  Mrs.  Hendershott  store,  Joel  Cranmer  shop,  C.  Eaton  saddlery, 


SOME  EXCITING  AND  INTERES TfNG  li VENTS         ')3 

p.  R.  Smith  grocery.  A  gap  here  prevented  further  progress  of  the 
f  A/r""''^'^^^'^'^'  ^'^^  r);insville  house  again  escaping.  On  the  east  side 
of  Main  street,  Ru.ssell  Day's  wooden  block  of  three  stores,  one  occu- 
pied by  Bushnell  \-  Marcell  shoes,  Harman  Jones  carriages,  R.  S. 
Faulkner  dry  goods,  M.  H.  Brown  empty  wooden  store,  C.  R.  Kern 
office,  C.  W.  Leonard  &  Co.  cigars,  C.  Shepard's  brick  block  of  four 
stores,  VIZ ;  Brown  &  Grant  hardware,  G.  G.  Wood  hardware,  E.  S. 
Palmes  &•  Co.  clothing,  L.  B.  Proctor  law  office,  Livingston  lodge 
L  O.  ().  F.,  Phoenix  Masonic  lodge.  First  Presbyterian  church,  M. 
Taft  grocery.  Barns  belonging  to  J.  Barnhart  some  distance  north. 
On  Ossian  street,  Samuel  Wilson  saddler,  John  F.  Howarth  building, 
James  Faulkner  building  in  which  John  McCurdy  stored  oats  and 
barley.  There  was  only  one  casualty  that  to  a  Mr.  Kennedy  who  fell 
from  a  third  story  window  of  the  American  hotel  and  injured  his 
back.  There  were  several  exciting  escapes.  Elihu  Stanley  remem- 
bers assisting  John  A.  Vanderlip  and  family  from  rooms  in  the  hotel 
and  Martin  Curtis  from  rooms  on  opposite  side  of  the  street.  James 
Lindsay  says  he  assisted  in  getting  furniture  out  of  the  American 
hotel  until  he  found  out  too  late  that  his  shop  down  Main  street  was 
burning.  The  entire  loss  was  estimated  at  $100,000  on  which  there 
was  an  insurance  of  $50,000,  $20,000  of  which  in  mutual  companies 
was  not  good. 


Host  CAR.T  or  THE  DAY 


It  was  April  5,  1859,  at  5  in  the  evening,  that  a  fire  broke  out  in 
the  National  hotel,  about  where  Mehlenbacher's  bakery  is,  which 
destroyed  many  dwellings  and  business  buildings  before  it  was 
extinguished.  A  strong  wind  blowing  southeast  carried  the  flames 
across  to  the  east  side  of  Main  street  and  to  Elizabeth  and  Chestnut 
streets,  and  were  so  fierce  that  the  weak  fire  department  with  poor 
apparatus  made  poor  headway  against  them.  The  combined  losses 
amounted  to  about  $30,000,  and  the  principal  losers  were  F.  Altmeyer 
&  Co.,  Z.  B.  Grover,  proprietors  of  National  hotel  and  Cook's  block, 
J.  T.  Beach,  Lewis  Klein,  A.  Dippy,  Z.  Dildine,  Hugh  McCurdy, 
James  McCurdy,  L.  M.  Stedman,  George  P.  Reynale,  J.  W.  Smith,  E. 
Niles,  A.  J.  Abbott,  Horace  Fenstermacher,  John  Betts,  A.  Lassell, 
L.  N.  Cook,  Joseph  Fenstermacher  and  Mr.  Stilhvell.  There  were 
also  considerable  losses  by  occupants  of  stores.  Several  persons  saved 
themselves  by  jumping  from  the  second  story  of  the  National  hotel. 
Insurances  small. 


SOME  EXCITING  AND  INTERESTING  EVENTS         95 

Another  fire  in  the  afternoon  of  Nov.  8,  18S9,  caused  losses  of  about 
$25,000,  much  of  which  would  have  been  saved  with  good  fire  ap- 
paratus and  sufficient  water.  It  started  in  an  old  brick  building  near 
the  Bank  of  Dansville,  and  was  checked  after  burning  some  wooden 
buildings.  Other  wooden  buildings  were  burned  on  the  alley  back. 
On  the  south  around  Exchange  street  corner  there  was  a  mass  of 
ruins.  The  principal  losers  were  Adam  Ehle,  William  Maratt,  F.  J. 
Nelson,  Hall  &  Ingersoll,  R.  Nichoson,  James  Krein,  C.  Dick  & 
Bro.,  Mr.  Steinhardt,  Empire  saloon,  S.  Jones,  H.  Henry,  Z.  B. 
Grover,  I.  L.  Endress,  Dr.  Reynale,  Miss  Drake  and  M.  R.  Marcell. 
The  heaviest  losers  were  Mr.  Endress  and  Mr.  Grover,  who  lost  about 
$6,000  each.     Insurances  again  small. 

There  was  another  considerable  fire  March  1,  1877,  on  Exchange 
street  which  burned  Perry  Blank's  livery  stable  with  130  feet  of 
sheds,  Noble,  Stout  &  Bradley's  carriage  manufactory  and  blacksmith 
shop,  a  part  of  Bradley  &  Pfuntner's  marble  works  building,  and  part 
of  Mrs.  Margaret  Toles's  dwelling  house.  In  preventing  the  spread  of 
the  flames  the  new  water  works  and  fire  department  were  found  most 
serviceable.  The  comment  of  the  Advertiser  on  the  water  works, 
which  it  had  fought  for,  four  years  before,  was:  "These  works,  cost- 
ing less  than  $25,000,  unquestionably  saved  to  the  village  fully  $200,- 
000  on  Friday  night.  That  is,  in  one  night  they  paid  for  themselves 
eight  times  over."  The  losses  amounted  to  nearly  $15,000,  and  the 
insurance  covered  less  than  $2,000  of  them.  It  was  said  at  the  time 
of  the  first  fire  of  1854  that  a  good  engine  and  plenty  of  water  would 
have  prevented  that  great  fire  from  spreading  beyond  the  bakery  at 
farthest  and  thus  have  saved  $100,000. 

The  third  and  last  great  Dansville  fire  was  the  burning  of  the  main 
building  of  "Our  Home  on  the  Hillside"  on  the  night  of  June  26, 
1882.  It  was  caused  by  the  overturning  of  a  lamp  in  a  patient's 
room,  and  spread  so  rapidly  through  the  large  wooden  structure  that 
all  hope  of  saving  it  was  quickly  abandoned.  The  efficient  fire  de- 
partment and  crowds  of  people  hastened  from  the  village  to  the  hill- 
side. The  first  thought  of  the  proprietors  and  managers  of  the 
"Home"  was  to  save  the  150  patients,  and  with  splendid  generalship, 
and  the  exertions  of  a  small  army  of  ready  helpers,  this  was  done. 
Not  a  life  was  lost  nor  a  patient  injured.  Liberty  hall  and  adjacent 
cottages  were  saved  from  the  flames  by  the  herculean  efforts  of  the 
firemen,  who  managed  with  great  difficulty  to  pull  down  the  corridor 
between  the  beautiful  hall  and  the  burning  building.  Never  was  a 
large  fire  better  managed  or  more  vigorously  fought.  The  losses 
amounted  to  $40,000,  and  were  nearly  covered  by  insurance.  The 
fire  was  a  blessing  in  disguise.  On  the  same  site  the  present  palatial 
fire-proof  building,  with  conveniences  and  comforts  multiplied  and 
the  latest  structural  improvements  incorporated,  quickly  went  up,  and 
the  fame  of  its  benefits  and  enjoyments  has  gone  forth  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth. 


CHAPTER  X 
Certain  Institutions 

The  Jackson  Sanatorium — Coterie — The  Library — ^First  Red  Cross  Society 

Canaseraga     Light     Infantry — The    Normal    Instructor — The     Dansville 
Cemetery  Association. 

N  other  parts  of  this  history  will  be  found  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  the  inception  and  growth  of  the  Jackson  Sana- 
torium to  its  present  commanding  position  among  the 
health  institutions  of  the  world,  and  also  a  brief  biographi- 
cal sketch  of  its  founder,  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson,  who 
labored  with  such  intelligent  skill  in  the  application  of  his 
then  novel  therapeutics  that  its  success  was  almost  im- 
mediately assured  and  it  became  quickly  famous.  It  has 
been  an  evolution  from  that  time  until  now,  its  progressive 
methods  having  kept  pace  with  the  wonderful  march  of 
events.  Two  statements  should  be  added.  For  thirty-six 
years  a  health  magazine  entitled  "Laws  of  Life"  was 
edited  and  sent  out  by  the  managers  of  the  institution,  through  which 
they  made  known  their  philosophy  of  life,  health  and  disease  to  many 
thousands  of  subscribers  in  all  the  states  and  other  countries.  Another 
distinction,  shared  by  Dansville,  was  the  invention  by  the  founder  of 
the  twice-cooked  food,  Granula — the  first,  and  many  think  the  best 
of  the   health   foods   with  which  the  county  is  now  flooded. 

Coterie,  the  widely  known  literary  society  of  Dansville,  was 
planned  by  A.  O.  Bunnell  and  CTeorge  C.  Bragdon,  and  the  first  meet- 
ing was  held  Oct.  25,  1873,  over  twenty-eight  and  one-half  years  ago. 
The  presidents  and  secretaries  have  always  been  elected  annually  for 
one  year,  and  the  meetings  have  been  held  weekly  between  early  Sep- 
tember or  (Dctober  and  June  or  July.  The  number  of  members  has 
been  limited  to  twenty  or  twenty-five,  never  more.  At  the  first  meet- 
ing A.  O.  Bunnell  presided,  a  constitution  was  adopted,  and  the  first 
officers  were  elected — George  C.  Bragdon  for  president  and  JIary  F. 
Bunnell  for  secretary.  Invitations  were  sent  out  to  a  few  selected  per- 
sons to  be  present  at  the  next  meeting,  when  the  organization  was 
perfected.  The  first  year  no  one  could  be  admitted  except  by  a  unani- 
mous vote,  but  afterward  it  required  three  negati\'es  to  reject  a  pro- 
posed member.  A  high  standard  of  membership  has  always  been 
maintained,  the  members  with  scarcely  an  exception  during  the  twen- 
ty-eight years  have  been  capable  of  good  intellectual  work  and  diligent 
to  perform  the  tasks  assigned  them.  Among  them  have  been  persons 
of  national  and  state  reputation,  and  others  who  were  younger  have 
since  acquired  distinction.  For  many  years  the  president  prepared 
the  programs,  and  at  each  meeting  made  announcements  for  the  next, 
but  in  recent  years  a  committee  appointed  by  the  president  has  pre- 
pared in  detail  and  printed  on  leaflets  in  advance  the  program  for  the 
whole  Coterie  season.      The  scope  of  Coterie's  work  has  been  wide  and 

97 


98  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

varied.  Many  departments  of  literature  and  knowledge  have  been  in- 
vestigated tttrough  authors  and  critics — poetry,  history,  biography, 
fiction,  science,  philosophy,  religion,  the  drama,  etc.  Shakespeare 
has  justly  received  more  attention  than  any  other  author.  In  1899 
and  1900  the  great  religions  of  the  world  were  taken  up.  The  histor- 
ical field  surveyed  has  been  large,  extending  to  various  nations  and 
provinces.  The  poets  have  been  read  and  analyzed.  Evolution  has 
not  been  neglected.  Considerable  attention  has  been  given  to  archae- 
ology, early  languages,  race  problems  and  kindred  subjects.  Practi- 
cal questions  relating  to  government,  society  and  everyday  life  have 
had  their  turn,  and  sometimes  much  of  the  evening  has  been  devoted 
to  answering  questions  propounded  at  a  previous  meeting.  There 
have  been  occasional  recitations  and  dramatic  presentations.  Many 
original  essays  and  some  original  poems  have  been  read,  stories  have 
been  told,  appointed  critics  have  critcised,  music  and  games  have  en- 
livened feeling  after  graver  work,  wits  have  been  sharpened  by  joke 
and  repartee — all  in  orderly  and  creditable  ways.  One  year  a  long 
novel  was  written,  each  chapter  by  a  different  member,  and  is  care- 
fully preserved  in  manuscript  in  the  archives  of  the  society.  The  5th, 
10th,  15th,  20th,  and  25th  anniversaries  were  celebrated  by  special 
exercises,  banquets  and  unconstrained  sociability,  and  were  land- 
marks in  Coterie  history.  Communications  from  ex-members  who 
had  gone  to  other  parts  of  the  country  were  an  interesting  feature 
occasionally.  The  original  esprit  de  corps  was  excellent  and  has  been 
kept  burning  during  the  entire  period  of  twenty-eight  and  one-half 
years.  There  has  been  very  little  friction,  and  what  there  was  related 
to  matters  of  minor  importance.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  one  of 
the  hundreds  of  different  members  who  does  not  look  back  on  Coterie  as 
a  source  of  exceptional  benefit  and  satisfaction.  It  was  started  before 
the  Chautauqua  circles,  and  has  been  superior  to  them  in  both  the  range 
and  quality  of  its  investigations.  The  Chautauqua  circle  is  mostly 
confined  to  a  round  of  elementary  studies  or  outlines  with  reference 
to  obtaining  a  diploma,  and  the  stimulus  is  often  more  in  the  desire 
for  the  diploma  than  the  subjects  studied.  Coterie  has  ignored  diplo- 
mas, and  reached  out  towards  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  the  sun,  moon 
and  stars  to  find  what  it  could  about  the  universe  and  the  things 
thereof,  material  and  immaterial.  In  Coterie  enthusiasm  has  been 
continuous,  partly  because  of  the  quality  of  the  membership  and  part- 
ly because  of  inspiring  methods  and  variety  of  studies.  In  the  Chau- 
tauqua circles,  which  have  been  rapidly  waning,  there  has  been  more 
of  the  perfunctoriness  and  plodding  dullness  which  naturall)'  accom- 
panies lesson-learning  along  dry  outlines  and  much-beaten  paths. 

The  village  library,  the  value  of  which  has  been  noticed  in  another 
chapter,  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  movement  started  at  a  meeting  of  a 
few  public  spirited  citizens  Dec.  7,  1872,  when  it  was  resolved  to  form 
the  Library  Association  of  Dansville,  and  Frank  Fielder  was  selected 
for  president,  Mrs.  Katherine  J.  Jackson  for  first  vice  president,  A. 
O.  Bunnell  for  treasurer  and  Mary  E.  Noyes  for  secretary.  A.  O. 
Bunnell  was  appointed  chairman  of  a  committee  on  constitution  and 
by-laws.  It  was  afterward  decided  to  incorporate  the  association  and 
issue  stock,  and  this  was  done  Jan.  13,  1873,  when  D.  W.  Noyes  be- 
came president,    P.   Fielder  vice  president,  Seth  N.  Hedges  secretary 


( 7:7v'  r.  I  /N  INS  rmiTIONS 


'/) 


and  James  Krein  treasurer.  By  dilioent  efforts  the  association  was 
able  to  open  the  library  July  IS,  1874,  with  an  accumulation  of  1,200 
purchased  and  100  donated  books.  The  o])ening  was  in  the  Maxwell 
block,  and  the  event  was  celebrated  by  s]jeeches,  recitations  and 
music.  Frank  Fielder  stated  that  the  sales  of  stock  then  amounted 
to  $1)30,  and  $5oS  had  been  raised  by  entertainments.  The  first  libra- 
rian was  the  accomplished  Miss  A.  P-  Adams,  and  there  was  an  im- 
mediate and  large  demand  for  books.  The  library  was  annually  in- 
creased by  means  of  entertainments,  stock  sales  and  donations  until 
l.S">3,  when,  in  December,  the  property  was  transferred  to  the  regents, 
and  thus  came  under  the  supervision  of  the  state,  with  the  following 
trustees:  Miss  A.  P.  Adams,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Preston,  Mrs.  T.  E.  Gal- 
lagher, B.  H.  Oberdorf  and  Willis  G.  Carmer.  Following  are  lists  of 
the  successive  presidents,  vice  presidents  and  librarians: 

Presidents— Frank   Fielder,    Isaac   H.    Dix,    A.  ( ).  Bunnell,  George 

A.  vSweet,  James  H.  Jackson,  ]\liss  Ann  P.  Adams,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Sweet. 

Secretaries— Seth  N.  Pledges,  Isaac  H.  Dix,  A.  P.  Burkhart,  F. 
Fielder,  Mrs.  Margaret  H.  Faulkner,  Mrs.  Theodosia    D.  Bailev,  Dr. 

B.  P.  Andrews. 

Librarians— Miss  A.  P.  Adams,  :\Iiss  Marv  F.  Bunnell,  Mrs.  M.  L. 
Brayton,  Miss  A.  C.  Bissell,  Miss  Elizabeth' Hedges,  ?iliss  Susan  M. 
Parker. 

The  first  local  branch  of  the 
American  National  Society  of 
the  Red  Cross  was  organized  in 
Dansville  in  1881,  through  the 
agency  of  Clara  Barton,  who  was 
instrumental  in  its  recognition 
by  Congress  and  final  incorpora- 
tion as  a  national  institution. 
Miss  Barton  had  at  that  time 
been  a  resident  of  Dansville 
several  years,  and  apart  from  the 
fame  of  her  philanthropic  services 
in  and  at  the  close  of  the  civil 
war,  and  the  honors  of  royal 
recognition  which  she  brought 
home  with  her  from  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war,  she  had  convic- 
tions, knowledge  and  enthusiasm 
which  were  contagious.  She  was 
a  valued  member  of  Coterie,  and 
CLARA  BARTON,  PRESIDENT  RED  CROSS  SOCIETY  ^^^  influential  Cotcrieaus  secon- 
ded her  desire  for  a  local  Red  Cross  society.  Its  organization 
was  soon  followed  by  that  of  a  like  society  in  Rochester,  and  others 
came  later.  The  local  societies  have  sent  to  the  national  society  much 
money  for  splendid  alleviating  and  life-saving  work,  which  Miss  Barton 
as  the  head,  and  her  corps  of  lieutenants,  have  accomplished  in  times 
of  disaster,  and  especially  during  the  Spanish  war.  The  international 
Red  Cross  was  started  at  an  international  convention  in  Geneva,  Switz- 
erland, in   1863,    resulting  in  a  treaty  signed  by  twenty-five   govern- 


100  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

ments.  Our  government  was  slow  to  recognize  the  value  of  the  inter- 
national Red  Cross,  "which,"  said  Miss  Barton,  "must  by  its  very 
foundation  stand  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  the  great  civilizers  of 
mankind."  It  provides  for  the  neutrality  in  war  of  every  person  and 
thing  needed  for  the  aid  comfort  and  safe  conduct  of  sick  or  wounded 
men,  and  the  sign  of  the  Red  Cross  is  the  passport.  Under  the  wise 
suggestion  of  Miss  Barton  the  scope  of  Red  Cross  work  in  this  country 
has  been  extended  to  sufferers  by  great  calamities,  fires,  floods, 
plagues,  etc.,  in  which   it  has  been  notably  efficient. 

The  militia  company,  Canaseraga  Light  Infantry,  familiarly 
known  as  the  Canaseragas,  was  organized  in  1847  and  disbanded  four- 
teen years  afterward,  at  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war.  It  became 
one  of  the  most  famous  companies  of  the  state  on  account  of  the  char- 
acter and  standing  of  its  members  and  the  superiority  of  its  drill. 
Col.  Timothy  B.  Grant,  who  had  been  one  of  the  Union  Grays  in  Roch- 
ester, was  its  captain  during  the  entire  fourteen  years  of  its  existence, 
except  a  very  brief  interval,  and  a  more  capable  and  thorough  drill 
master  than  he  was  not  to  be  found.  He  brought  the  Canaseragas  to 
a  skill  and  exactitude  of  maneuvre  and  movement  that  surprised  look- 
ers-on, and  infused  them  with  a  military  spirit  and  community  of 
feeling  which  held  them  together  and  made  them  cheerfully  obedient. 
They  were  in  demand  at  celebrations  near  and  remote,  and  wherever 
they  went  excited  admiration  and  cheers.  They  took  the  lead  in 
social  gatherings,  and  gave  an  annual  ball  Jan.  8,  the  anniversary 
of  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  which  was  the  most  important  social 
event  of  each  year.  Not  until  war  became  inevitable  was  the  com- 
pany broken  up,  and  this  was  because  the  most  of  them  enlisted,  to 
help  save  the  country.  It  furnished  the  Union  army  with  a  large 
number  of  brave  officers,  who  distinguished  themselves  in  drill  and 
march  and  battle. 

The  Normal  Instructor  Publishing  Company  of  Dansville  occupies 
two  large  brick  buildings  with  floor  space  of  22,825  square  feet  in  use. 
It  represents  an  investment  of  $40,000,  employs  ninety  people  exclusive 
of  2,000  agents,  and  its  pay  roll  exceeds  $15,000  a  year.  Nine  power 
presses  do  the  printing  for  its  publications.  The  Normal  Instructor 
was  started  in  1891  in  an  attic  in  South  Dansville  a  hamlet  of  200 
population,  and  up  to  April,  1892,  was  printed  in  Dansville,  seven 
miles  distant,  and  the  editions  carted  to  South  Dansville,  where  they 
were  mailed.  Then  the  entire  business  was  changed  to  Dansville. 
By  November,  1892,  20,000  subscriptions  had  been  received,  and  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  business  required  first  a  part  and  then  the  whole 
of  the  upper  floor  of  the  Fowler  &  Burgess  building;  next,  in  1896,  a 
three-story  brick  building  45  by  60  feet,  erected  by  the  proprietors; 
and  now  a  second  brick  building  of  three  stories  39  by  40  feet  con- 
necting with  the  other.  The  business  was  incorported  in  1899  with 
capital  stock  of  $60,000.  Last  year  the  average  circulation  of  the 
Normal  Instructor  was  about  109,000  a  month.  Recently  the  Teach- 
ers' World,  with  good  will  and  list  of  subscribers,  has  been  added  by 
purchase,  and  the  magazine  is  called  The  Normal  Instructor  and 
Teachers',  World,  the  circulation  of  which  is  120,000.  The  World's 
Events  is  another  magazine  started  by  the  company  eighteen  months 
ago,    and  the   circulation  has  already  reached  75,000.     In  addition  to 


C  IiR  TA  IN  L\S  Tin'T/OXS 


101 


these  periodicals  an  extensive  book  department  in  tlie  new  building 
has  been  established  to  supply  school  libraries  with  books  at  low 
prices.  The  remarkable  growth  of  the  business  from  its  insignificant 
beginning  in  1891  is  unequaled  in  the  history  of  educational  period- 
icals. Frederick  A.  Owen  was  the  originator  and  is  the  controlling 
spirit. 

The  Dansville  Cemetery  Association  was  organized  in  1847,  and 
the  first  trustees  were  Lester  Bradner,  Chester  Bradley,  Harmon 
Jones,  Isaac  L.  Endress,  Lauren  C.  Woodruff  and  George  G.  Wood. 
Twenty-six  acres  of  land  were  purchased  by  the  side  of  Little  Mill 
creek  at  the  end  of  the  valley,  a  mile  from  the  center  of  the  village, 
and  a  constitution,  by-laws  and  regulations  were  adopted.  The  name 
selected  was  Green  mount  Cemetery,  and  in  its  present  state  of  improve- 


.-.  :,— --.'■■Sit' 


.  .■^.^-i-i-  iWk 


CREENMOUNT   CEMETEB.Y   CHAPEL 


ment  there  is  no  more  attractive  village  burial  place.  The  soil  is  a 
sandy  loam,  the  surface  rolling  and  studded  with  many  pine  and  oak 
trees,  and  on  the  east  is  a  clear  rippling  stream.  There  are  several 
beautiful  monuments,  a  vault  and  a  chapel,  and  a  suitable  house  and 
barn  for  the  sexton.  The  cemetery  is  more  than  self-sustaining,  and 
the  drives,  walks  and  lots  are  well  cared  for.  At  the  last  annual 
meeting  in  September  the  treasurer  reported  that  there  were  $1,040  in 
the  common  fund  and  $2,350  in  the  trust  fund.  The  present  officers 
are:  George  A.  Sweet,  president;  A.  O.  Bunnell,  vice  president; 
Solon  S.  Dyer,  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  first  superintendent  was 
Shepard  Jones,  the  second  Alexander  Edwards,  third  and  present  one 
Gordon  S.  Wilson.     The  sexton  is  Philip  H.  Kinney. 


CHAPTER  XI 
Some  Names  and  C.vexits 

Village  Postmasters — Presidents — ^Clerks — Supervisors — Churches  Organized 
— Early  Merchants — ^Old  Residents  in  1875 — Reunion  Veteran  Canasera- 
gas — Old-Fashioned  Base  Ball  Game — Handsome  Men  of  1877 — A  Few 
'  'Firsts. " 

COMPLETE  list  of  postmasters  of  Dansville:  Jared  Irwin, 
Jan.  1,  1807;  William  B.  Rochester,  Apr.  1,  1813;  James 
Faulkner,  Jan.  1,1815  to  1841;  Samuel  Shannon,  March 
29,  1841;  Merritt  H.  Brown,  Aug.  22,  1845;  Charles  E. 
Lamport,  May  9,1849;  Charles  Shepard,  Nov.  18,  1850; 
Merritt  H.  Brown,  May  4,  1853 ;  John  A.  Vanderlip,  July 
6,  1858;  Olney  B.  Maxwell,  Julv  16,  1861;  George  Hyland, 
July  12,1865;  Edward  H.  Pratt,  Oct.  5,  1866;  Seth  N. 
Hedges,  Oct.  5,  1869;  John  Hyland,  Dec.  10,  1873;  Albert 
Sweet,  May  28,  1886;  Charles  H.  Rowe,  May  7,  1890; 
James  E.  Crisfield,  Aug.  29,  1894;  Frank  J.  McNeil,  Sept. 
17,  1898. 

Presidents  of  the  village  of  Dansville:  Chester   Bradley,  1846;  Sid- 
ney  Sweet,  1847;  Harman   Jones,  1848;  John    Haas,  1849;  Ebenezer 
B.  Brace;  M.  H.  Brown,  1851  and   1852;  George    Hyland,  1853;   Har- 
man  Jones,  1854;  Abram    Lozier,  1855    and    1856;  John  Hass,  1857 
Matthew    McCartney,  1858;  Charles    R.    Kern,  1859  and   1860;  J.  F 
Howarth,  1861;  Frank    Eshrich,  1862    and   1863;  D.  Cogswell,   1864 
Hugh  McCartney,  1865;  Charles    R.  Kern,  1866    and    1867;  John    N 
Lemen,  1868  and   1869;  J.  B.  Morey,  1870;  Hugh  McCartney,  1871 
W.  J.  LaRue,  1872;  Joseph    C.  Whitehead,  1873    to  1875;  George  A, 
Sweet,  1876   and   1877;  John   Wilkinson,   1878;  James    Krein,    1879 
James    Faulkner,  Jr.,    1880   and    1881;  E.  H.  Pratt,  1882;  Frederick 
W.  Noves,   1883;  James    E.  Crisfield,    1884;  William    E.  Lefifingwell, 
1885;  E.  H.  Readshaw,  1886;  F.  M.  Ferine,  1887;  E.   PL  Readshaw, 
1888;  Matthew  McCartney,  1889;  George    A.  Sweet,  1890;  James  E. 
Crisfield,  1891  and  1892;  j.  B.  Morey,  Jr.,  1893;  Charles  A.  Snyder, 
1894;  James  H.   Jackson,  1895;  ChailesA.  Snyder,  1896    to    1899;  J. 
B.  Morey,  Jr.,  1899;  Oscar  Woodruff,  1900,  1901,  1902. 

Clerks  of  the  village  of  Dansville :  Barna  J.  Chapin,  1846  and  1847 ; 
George  H.  Bidwell,  1848;  Charles  E.  Lamport,  1849  and  1850;  Osman 
T.  Crane,  1851  to  1855;  Timothy  B.  Grant,  1859;  Andrew  J.  Leach, 
1860  to  1863;  Charles  B.  Mitchell,  1863  to  1867:  Oliver  W.  West, 
1867;  Jesse  B.  Prussia,  1871  and  1872;  William  Kramer,  1873;  Jesse 
B.  Prussia,  1874  and  1875;  LeGrand  Snyder,  1876  and  1877;  Patrick 
O'Hara,  1878;  LeGrand  Snyder,  1879  to  1882;  James  M.  Edwards,  1882 
to  1884 ;  Frederick  T.  Brettle,  1884  to  1886 ;  Daniel  Blum,  1886 ;  Freder- 
ick T.  Brettle,  1887;  E.  R.  Woodruff,  1888  to  1896;  B.  G.  Readshaw, 
1896;  E.  R.  Woodruff,  1897  and  1898;  Charles  A.  Brown,  1899;  James 
A.  Young,  1900,  1901  and  1902. 

102 


SOJ/E  NAMES  AND  JA'ENTS  10.-? 

Supervisors  from  North  Dansville,  formed  from  Sparta  in  1846: 
Sidney  Sweet,  1S4()  to  1850;  John  Goundry,  1850;  Henry  liartman, 
1851;  E.  B.  Brace,  1852;  Alonzo  Bradner,  1853  and  1854;  Matthew 
Porter,  Jr.,  1855  to  1859;  Joseph  W.  Smith,  1859  to  1862;  Samuel  D. 
Faullcner,  18(.2  to  1865;  Joseph  W.  Smith,  1865  to  1867;  John  A. 
VanDerlip,  18()7  to  1871;  James  Faulkner,  Jr.,  1871  to  1876;  George 
A.  Sweet,  187()  to  1S7<);  Lester  B.  Faulkner,  1879  and  1880;  Albert 
Sweet,  1881  and  1882;  James  Faulkner,  Jr.,  1883  and  1884;  William 
Kramer,  1885;  James  E.  Crisfield,  1886  to  1890;  Oscar  Woodruff, 
1890  to  1896;  J.  J.  Bailey,  1896    and   1897;  B.  G.  Foss,  1898  to  1902, 

First  Presbyterian  society  was  formed  in  Dansville  1812,  first  rec- 
ords 1825,  division  184(1,  reunion  in  1861;  Baptist  church  organized 
1850;  Methodist  church  regularly  organized,  after  occasional  preach- 
ing services  for  several  years,  1823;  vSt.  Peter's  Episcopal,  1831;  Ger- 
man Evangelical  Lutheran,  1826;  English  Lutheran,  1S26;  St.  Clary's 
Catholic,  1836;  St.  Patrick's  Catholic,  1851. 

Soine  of  the  early  merchants  of  Dansville  with  dates  of  ccimmencing 
business:  Daniel  P.  Faulkner,  1796;  Jared  Irwin,  179S;  John  Metcalf, 
1812  or  earlier;  Joshua  Shepard,  1813;  Samuel  W.  Smith,  181');  Sam- 
uel Shannon,  druggist,  1820;  Merritt  H.  Brown,  hardware,  1827; 
George  Hyland,  hatter,  1830;  James  and  Daniel  McCartney,  1S3() — 
all  general  stores;  Dr.  L.  N.  Cook  and  Edward  Niles,  drugs  and 
medicines,  1832. 

The  residents  of  Dansville  80  years  old  and  over  living  in  1875 
were:  Sarah  Stevens,  80;  Obed  Aldrich,  81;  Peter  Schubmehl,  85; 
Nathaniel  W.  Niles,  83;  Martin  Curtis,  80;  Robert  McBride,  8'); 
Joan  McBride,  85;  John  Tierney,  80;  Susanna  Gilder,  81  ;  William 
Ferine,  83;  Elizabeth  Hamsher,  81;  Frederic  Fogle,  81;  Joseph  Kidd, 
85;  Anna  Huggins,  83;  James  Faulkner,  85;  A.  R.  Shepard,  86; 
Nelly  Gilroy,  80;  Daniel  Dean,  93, 

The  following  former  members  of  the  Veteran  Canaseragas  on  the 
evening  of  Jan.  8,  1876,  had  a  reunion,  drill,  parade  and  supper  with 
music,  speeches  by  B.  T.  Squires,  L.  B.  Proctor  and  D,  W.  Noyes, 
and  a  poem  by  A.  O.  Bunnell:  Capt.  T.  B.  Grant,  George  Hyland, 
Jr.,  E.  B.  Gilman,  B.  T.  Squires,  A.  L.  Parker,  J.  B.  Morey,  James 
Faulkner,  Jr.,  C.  K.  Saunders,L.  B.  Proctor,  A.  T.  Wood, Carl  Stephan, 
A.  ().  Bunnell,  D.  W.  Noyes,  G.  Bastian,  E,  S,  Palmes,  W.  H.  Welch, 
M.  J.  Puffer,  W,  H.  Drehmer,  Mark  J.  Bunnell,  H.  F.  Dyer,  G.  H. 
Rice,  A.  J.  Hartman,  Wm.  INIonroe,  J.  Shafer,  J,  J.  Welch,  Geo.  :M, 
Morrison,  W.  Zimmer,  L.  Perham,  William  Amos,  H.  W.  Jones,  Ed. 
Hartman,  T.  L.  Ferine,  William  Drehmer,  W.  L.  Miller.  Also  these 
members  of  the  old  band:  Alexander  Scott,  M.  T.  Stout,  Ed.  Goodno, 
John  Hood,  L.  Brown  and  J.  M.  Newton,  reinforced  by  A.  W.  Fielder, 
Henry  Preston,  George  Wheaton  and  John  Palmer  of  Dansville,  and 
Peter  Sheridan  of  Rochester. 

The  following  venerable  men  played  a  game  of  old-fashioned  base 
ball  on  the  square,  September  8,  1874: 

McCartney's  side— Hugh  McCartney,  61;  Samuel  Sturgeon,  65;  E. 
Ogden,  66;  James  Kiehle,  63;  Alex.  Kinney,  64;  E.  S.  Palmes,  63; 
Uriah  Alverson,  65;  John  Littles,  68;  B.  W.  Woodruff,  68;  J.  C. 
Vanduzee,  68;  Lucius  Bradley,  65;  Simeon  Pease,  61, 

Squires's  Side— John  Squires,  64;  Peter  Ferine,  75;  D.  Bunnell,  6S; 


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James  Brewer,  70;  Peter  Wilklow,  (,:.;  I'ctcr  X'anNuys,  ()(.;  Joscpli 
Sanborn,  ()5:  tienrj^e  Hess,  dS;  Wni.  Ingraham,  („S;  David  Shal'rr 
(i2;  John  O^i^dcn,  ()3. 

The  score  limit  was  .^(t,  and  Squire's  side  won  by  a  score  of  30  to  d, 
acci)r(ling  to  the  notches  marlced  on  a  stick.  The  only  survivDr  of 
the  players  is  Hugh  McCartney. 

The  27  Dansville  men  called  handsome  who  were  photographed  to- 
gether by  Betts  Sep.  5,  1877,  were:  H.  K.  VanNuys,  Isaac  N.  A^an- 
Nuys,  A.  B.  \"anNuys,  Henry  J.  Faulkner,  H.  W'  DeLong,  Frank 
(Tuheen,  J.  McC.  Edwards,  B.  T.  Squires,  Solon  Dyer,  H.  S.  McCart- 
ney, George  Hyland,    Jr.,    George    C.    Bragdon,  John    T.    McCurdy, 


THE     HANDSOME    MEN   OF    1877 


Charles  H.  Rowe,  Wm.  A.  Spinning,  Charles  J.  Bissell,  E.  F.  Ham- 
sher,  Thomas  E.  Gallagher,  B.  H.  Oberdorf,  Albert  Sweet,  Oscar 
W(jodruff,  J.  M.  I\IcNair,  A.  J.  Shafer,  Seth  N.  Hedges,  F.  \Y .  Noyes, 
F.  T.  Brettle,  James  P.  Williams. 


"A    FEW  FIRSTS. 

First  settlers,  Cornelius  McCoy  and  wife,    with   stepchildren    Mary, 
David  and  James  McCurdy. 

First  marriage,  William  McCartney  to  Mary  ^IcCurdy. 

First  school  teacher,  Thomas  Macklem. 

First  resident  minister.  Rev.  Mr.  Pratt. 

First  merchant,  Daniel  P.  Faulkner. 

First  millright,  Philip  Sholl. 

First  physician,  Dr-  James  Faulkner. 

First  shoemaker,  Gower  Wilkinson. 

First  blacksmith,  James  Porter. 

First  resident  surveyor,  Alexander  Rea. 

First  tavern  keeper,  John  Vandeventer. 

First  justice  of  the  peace,  Dr.  James  Faulkner. 


106  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

First  postmaster,  Jared  Irwin. 

First  town  clerk,  Lazarus  Hammond. 

First  constable,  Henry  Cruger. 

First  tailor,  Joseph  C.  Sedgwick. 

First  lawyers,  James  Smith  and  John  Proudfit. 

First  death,  Nathaniel  Porter. 

First  mail  stage  line  from  Rochester  to  Dansville  and  Dansville  to 
Bath  and  Olean,  started  in  1825. 

First  log  house,  erected  by  Cornelius  McCoy. 

First  frame  dwelling,  erected  by  Samuel  Faulkner. 

First  brick  dwelling,  erected  by  Jonathan  Rowley. 

First  grist  mill,  erected  by  Capt.  Charles  Williamson. 

First  military  company,  organized  by  Daniel  P.   Faulkner. 

First  bank,  Bank  of  Dansville. 

First  town  meeting  held  in  1846. 

First  corporation  meeting  held  in  1846. 

First  telegraph  line,  completed  from  Rochester  to  Dansville  in  1851. 

First  paper  mill  in  Western  New  York  built  in  Dansville,  by  Col. 
Nathaniel  Rochester. 

First  debating  society,  organized  1811,  and  called  the  Dansville 
Polemic  Society. 

First  supervisor  of  town,  Amariah  Hammond. 

First  newspaper,  the  Village  Chronicle,  started  in  April,  1830,  by 
D.  Mitchell. 

First  corder  and  cloth  dresser,  Samuel  Culbertson. 

First  train  over  the  Dansville  and  Mt.  Morris  railroad,  December 
12,  1871. 

First  drug  store,  started  in  1832  by  Samuel  Shannon. 

First  cabinet  maker,  James  McCurdy. 

First  public  religious  services,  held  by  Rev.  Andrew  Gray  in  1798. 

First  church  (Presbyterian),  formed  in  1800. 

First  saw  mill  was  erected  by  David  Sholl  in  1795,  and  the  first 
grist  mill  in  1796,  both  for  the  Pulteney  estate. 

First  tanner,  Israel  Vandeventer. 


CHAPTER  X[[ 
Ancient  Documents 

A  Prfshyterian  Petition  1809 — Navigation  of  Canaseraga  River  1811 — Clmrch 
Subscription  1811 — Dansville  Polemic  Society  1811 — District  Tax  Roll 
1S30 — iJansville  Academy  Examinations  1837 — Host-s  VanCampen  Cir- 
cular l!^44 — School  Exercises  1853 — School  Program  1859. 

Jl  Presbpterian  Petition. 

(Contributed  by  H.  R.  McNair. ) 

E,  the  Subscribers,  Elders  and  Trustees  of  the  United  Pres- 

Wbyterian  Con;j,regation  lying  in  Ontario  and  Steuben  Coun- 
ties and  State  of  New  York  being  authorized  by  our  People, 
to  do  in  their  name,  through  you,  sir,  humbly  petition  the 
Reverend  body  over  whom  you  preside  to  consider  our 
situation  and  grant  us  relief. 

Having  for  years  not  been  blessed  with  the  light  of  a 
preached  gospel;  yet  in  the  course  of  Providence  this  being 
removed  we  are  left  in  a  destitute  condition — nor  does  this 
so  much  discourage  us,  but  we  are  surrounded  by  sectarians 
who  not  withstanding  their  high  pretences  we  esteem  ene- 
mies to  truth,  unceasing  innoators  laboring  incessantly  and  ac- 
counting it  their  glory  to  break  up  regular  congregations,  of  these  we 
are  afraid,  lest  by  them  our  society  which  is  now  in  a  flourishing  sit- 
uation should  be  rent  to  pieces,  to  prevent  this  and  the  many  evils 
which  arise  to  the  souls  of  men  by  their  being  led  astray  in  the  paths 
of  error,  we  beseech  you  sir  to  represent  our  situation  to  the  general 
assembly  when  convened,  and  through  you  sir  we  intreat  that  rever- 
end body  to  grant  us  relief  by  ordering  their  missionaries,  their  can- 
didates and  others  under  their  direction  to  call  upon  us  and  to  preach 
for  us,  that  as  soon  as  possible  we  may  have  an  opportunity  of  estab- 
lishing the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel  amongst  us,  that  God  of  his  In- 
finite mercy  may  incline  your  hearts  to  answer  our  request  and  that 
he  may  send  us  a  spiritual  laborer  who  ma}-  be  a  blessed  means  in  his 
hand  to  bring  many  of  us  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  earnest 
prayer  of  your  humble  petitioners.  Given  under  our  hands  in  session 
con\'ened  this  20th  day  of  jMay,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  l.S()9.  Wil- 
liam McCartney,  Samuel  Boxer,  elders;  David  McNair,  James  Stur- 
geon, Timothy  Kenady,  David  Crooks,    Jared    Irwin,    John  McNair, 


sen  r. ,   trustees. 


jS^ 


Early  Church  Subscription  in  Dansville. 

(Contributed    by   Jlrs.    Ellen   McCartney   Peltier.) 

Whereas  it  pleaseth  Tjod  to  make  the  preached  Gospel  the  Grand 
mean  of  Salvation  to  fallen  sinners.  Impressed  with  a  sense  of  this 
and  in  order  to  support  the  same  amonght  us   in   the    United  Presby- 


107 


108  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

terian  Congregation  lying  in  Steuben  and  Ontario  Counties  and  State 
of  New  York,  we,  the  subscribers,  do  bind  ourselves  to  pay  or  cause 
to  be  paid  to  the  board  of  trustees  or  corporation  of  the  aforesaid  con- 
gregation or  their  successors  in  office,  either  in  cash  or  merchantable 
wheat  the  sums  opposite  to  our  respective  names  for  the  support  of 
the  Rev'd.  Ezekiel  Glasgow,  Minister  of  the  Gospel  this  we  agree 
and  obligate  ourselves  to  pay  yearly  for  one-half  of  his  time  from  he 
commences  his  services  as  witness  our  hands  this  21st  day  of  October. 
In  the  Year  of  our  Lord,  1811. 

Dols.  in 
Dols.        Cts.        Wheat 

Wm.  McCartney 1  SO  3 

David  McNair 1  50  3 

James   Sturgeon 1  50  2 

Wm.  B.    Rochester 2 

Wm.    Scott 1 

Geo.    H.  Irvine 1 

W.   P.  Reynolds 1 

Phineas  Squires 1 

Joseph  Blount 2 

Stephen  Haight .  .  1 

Saml.   Culberlson 1  50  2 

James  D.   McCurdy 2 

R.  W.  Porter 2 

Jared  Irwin 3 

William  Perine 3 

Navigation  of  Canaseraga. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Livingston  County  Historical  Society 
of  1900,  A.  O.  Bunnell  presented  to  the  society  in  behalf  of  Clarence 
I.  McNair  of  Cloquet,  Minn.,  a  paper  endorsed  "Subscription  for 
Opening  Canaseraga,"  which  came  to  the  owner  through  his  father, 
the  late  D.  D.  McNair,  and  explains  itself.  It  is  reproduced  as 
written  : 

We,  the  Subscribers  Inhabitants  of  the  Counties  of  Ontario,  Steuben, 
Genesee  and  Allegany  from  a  deep  conviction  of  the  importance  to 
these  Counties  of  having  the  navigation  of  the  Canaseraga  river 
opened  and  improved,  to  the  end  that  an  outlet  for  the  produce  of  the 
country  may  be  thereby  made,  do  severally  promise  and  engage  to 
pay  to  Nathaniel  Rochester,  David  McNair,  and  Joseph  Richardson  a 
committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  the  sums,  or  to  deliver  to  them 
the  wheat,  beef,  or  pork,  or  to  furnish  the  labor  by  us  respectively 
subscribed;  the  said  monies,  wheat,  beef,  or  pork,  or  labor  to  be  laid 
out  applied  and  disposed  of  under  the  direction  and  superintendence 
of  the  said  committee  in  opening  and  improving  the  said   navigation. 

September  1811. 

William  McNair  six  bushels  of  marchalle  wheat. 

James  Wallace  three  bushels  of  marchenable  wheat. 

Henry  Long  three  days  work. 


AxcfEXT  nocmrENTS  im 

John  Metcalfe  ten  dollars  in  goods  out  of  my  store. 

John  Hartman  ten  gallons  of  whiskey. 

M.  A.  Troup  in  cash  $150  for  the  Pultney  estate  and   for   Troupton 

N.  Rochester,  |30. 

Carroll  &  Kitzhugh  by  N.  Rochester  their  attorney  produce  $50. 

Jared  Irwin  fifteen  dollars  payable  in  goods  out  of  his  store. 

Mathew  and  D.  Porter  ten  bushels  of  wheat. 

James  D.  SlcCurdy  five  dollars  in  labour. 

William  and  John  Rochester  $10  in  whiskey  or  store  goods. 

Dansville'  Polemic  Society. 

The  first  debating  society  of  Dans-ville,  as  recorded  in  the  secretary's 
book,  now  the  property  of  Hon.  J.  B.  Morey,  was  called  the  "Dansville 
Polemic  Society,"  and  was  started  Dec.  14,  1811.  The  preliminary 
meeting  was  held  at  the  inn  of  Jonathan  Stout.  Amariah  Hammond 
was  chairman,  and  William  B.  Rochester,  William  Ament  and 
Jonathan  H.  Scott  were  appointed  a  committee  to  draft  "a  consti- 
tution or  system  of  laws. "  Their  report  was  adopted  the  next  week, 
with  some  modifications.  The  preamble  stated  that  the  subscribers 
were  "actuated  by  a  laudable  desire  to  promote  social  harmony  and 
intellectual  improvement,"  and  to  this  end  agreed  to  "discuss  at 
stated  times  subjects  either  moral,  philosophical,  historical  or  politi- 
cal."  The  president  was  to  choose  from  the  questions  presented  the 
one  for  debate  at  the  next  meeting,  and  class  the  members  on  both 
sides  as  equally  as  he  could,  but  no  religious  subject  was  to  be  intro- 
duced, and  no  spirituous  liquors  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  society. 
The  first  officers  were  Amariah  Hammond,  president;  John  iletcalf, 
vice-president;  Jonathan  H.  Scott,  secretary;  Matthew  Patterson, 
treasurer.  The  other  members  were  William  B.  Rochester,  Thomas 
McWhorter,  John  C.  Rochester,  J.  A.  Blount,  Joseph  Mctcalf,  Chris- 
topher Doty,  George  M.  Irvine,  William  Ament,  Joseph  Thompson, 
James  W.  Stout,  William  W.  McNair,  Peter  Laflesh,  Andrew  Cook, 
Frederick  Barnhart,  Stephen  Haight,  Jonathan  Rowley,  Philip  Scholl, 
Jedediah  Hubbill,  Samuel  Culbertson,  Gideon  Cook,  Richard  Swan, 
Joseph  Thomson.  The  meetings  were  held  in  the  school  house,  then 
located  adjacent  to  the  present  Livingston  hotel.  Some  of  the  ques- 
tions discussed  were  these: 

Is  African  slavery  an  evil  to  community  ? 

Are  theatrical  exhibitions  productive  of  more  good  than  evil  ? 

Does  nature  produce  a  greater  artist  than  practice  ? 

Is  a  married  life  preferable  to  a  single  life  ? 

Would  not  the  cultivation  of  cattle  and  sheep  in  the  western  district 
of  the  state  of  New  York,  for  exportation,  be  more  profitable  to  its 
inhabitants  than  the  raising  of  grain? 

Another  question  debated  was  so  delicate  that  it  is  omitted,  and 
indicates  that  ladies  were  not  admitted  to  the  meetings.  The  names 
of  the  members  given  are  nearly  all  of  men  who  were  prominent  among 
the  early  settlers,  and  the  records  of  their  society  are  suggestive  of 
thought  and  characteristics  of  the  early  years  of  the  19th  century. 


110 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


District  Tax  Roll  1850 

Livingston  County,   ss.  : 

To  the  collector  of  School  District  number  18 — ^in  the  town  of  Sparta 
in  the  county  aforesaid  greeting:  In  the  name  of  the  people  of  the 
state  of  York,  yon  are  hereby  commanded  and  required  to  col- 
lect from  each  of  the  Inhabitants  of  said  District  in  the  annexed  Tax 
list  named  the  sum  of  money  set  opposit  his  name  in  said  list.  And 
within  thirty  Days  after  receiving  the  warrant  to  pay  the  amount 
thereof  collected  (you  retaining  your  fees  for  collection)  into  the 
hand  of  the  Trustees  of  said  District  or  some  or  one  of  them  and  take 
his  or  their  Receipts  therefor.  And  if  any  of  the  said  Inhabitants  shall 
refuse  or  neglect  to  pay  said  sum  after  lawful  dun — and  therefore 
you  are  hereby  further  commanded  to  levy  the  same  by  distress  and 
sale  of  the  goods  and  chattels  of  said  Delinquent  together  with  the 
costs  and  charges  of  such  Distress  and  sale  according  to  Law.  Given 
under  our  hand  and  seals  this  30th  day  of  October,  1830. 

RussEL  Day, 
Benjamin  Picket, 
Lester  Kingsbury, 

Trustees. 


Valuation 
$2,784 
6,350 
2,100 
50 


John  Hartman .... 
Amr.  Hammond  .  .  . 
Jacob  Harlman.  .  .  . 
Henry  Harrison  .  .  . 

Danl.    Cruger 500 

Jonth.  Slough 175 

Mary   Culbertson.  ...  75 

Benj.     Picket 150 

James    Smith 175 

John  Haas 225 

H.  G.  Taggart 325 

Susan  A.  Ment ISO 

S.  L,  Endress 300 

Aron    Brown 450 

Jonth.    Barnhart 3,250 

Elish.    Shepard 3,960 


Wm.  H.  Reynale. 
John  M.  Briant.  .  . 
O.    G.  Parl^ill.  .     . 

A.    Bradner 

M.  Brown  &  Son  . 
Wast.  Taggart  .  . 
John  Kershner.  .  . 
L.  Kingsbury .... 


720 
250 
400 
800 
750 
100 
700 
900 


Ta.x 

$4,18 

9,52 

3.15 

.08 

.75 

.26 

.11 

.23 

.26 

.34 

.49 

.  22 

.45 

.68 

4.87 

5.94 

1.08 

.37 

.60 

1.20 

1.12 

.15 

1.05 

1.45 


Valu 


1 


Phillip   Kershner.. 
Arnold  B.  Brown.  .  . 

W.  F.    Clark 

J.  Rowley 

S.  W.   Smith 

J.  Hall  &Co 1 

L.  Melvin 1 

E.  B.   Brace 1 

F.  J.  Toles 

Conrad  Welch 

Jacob  Welch 

E.  Holbrook 

Wm.    Haas 

John  Rees 

Thorns.    McWhorter.  .      3, 

Wm.    Prine 1 

R.  &  P.    Prine 

Russell  Day 

S.  Shannon  &  Co  ...  . 
A.  Bradner  &  Co.  .  .  . 

A.    Slyter 

James   Harrison 

James  Tisdale 

Saml,    Wilson 


ation 

soo 

75 
000 
500 
,636 
150 
150 
100 
ISO 
800 
160 
150 
100 
200 
250 
326 
200 
600 
150 
450 
300 
200 

75 
240 


Tax 

.75 

.11 

3.00 

.75 

2.45 

1,72 

1.72 

1.65 

.23 

1.20 

.24 

.23 

.15 

.30 

4.88 

1.99 

.30 

.90 

.23 

.68 

45 

.30 

.11 

.36 


Total  valuation,  $42,101.      Tax,  $63.25, 


ICunlrihiilnl  liy  Mm.  Ili'Icn  Hlmiiiion   rieumat.] 

ORDER  OF  EXAMINATION  AT  THE 

DANSriLLE  ACADEMY. 

(i  eiitlemen's     D  epartment. 

COMMENCINO  (»N  MONDAY,  MARCH  Oth,  1837. 

The  following  CIlissl-s  will  be  fxani 
ined    on     Monday,     March     6th 
mencing    [irtL-isc'ly  at  1  "'clock, 
1st  Geooraphy  Class. 


com- 
P.  M. 


S.   Picket, 
C.   Robinson, 
W.   Eply, 
F.  Drake, 
I.   Welch, 


FT.  Rogers, 
S.  Smith, 
J.  M'Curdy, 
H.   Reynale, 
n.  Scjwick, 


L.  Lockling. 
1st  Akithjiktic  Cl.\ss. 


Kyser, 
Smith, 
Hartman, 
Ingols, 

C.  McNair, 

D.  Dunclebury, 
J.  Dresser, 

J.  Stont. 
2d  Arithmetic  Class. 


R.   Fitch, 
A.   Bradner, 
Cj.    Reynale, 
D.   Porter, 
W.   Hartman, 
T.   Bishop, 
J.    Davis, 


A.   Faulkner, 
X.   Porter, 
E.   Hartman, 
P.  Toles. 
\V.  Clark, 


J.   Hartman, 
H.  Sprague, 
J.  Shannon, 
\V.    Davis, 
(;.   Fisk. 


The  following  Clas^cs  will  be  ex- 
amined on  Monday  evening,  commenc- 
ing at  7  o'clock. 

3d    (iRAMMAR   Class. 

C.  McXair,  P.  Toles, 
J.   Smith,  F.   Kyser, 

D.  Davis,  T.  Bishop. 

2d  Geography  Class. 
W.   Fitch,  R.   Fitch, 

E.  Payne,  M.  Porter, 
A.  Dorr,                      A.   Faulkner, 
J.  Shannon,                J.  Hartman, 
J.   Stout,                      G.   Fisk, 

C.   Newton. 
The  following   Classes    will    be    ex- 
amined   on    Tuesday   evening  at  seven 
o'clock. 

2d  Algebra  Class. 
W.  Clark,  W.  Fitch, 

C.    McXair,  E.   Lee, 

Geiimetry  Class. 
J.   McNair,  J.   Moyer. 

The  following  Classes  will  be  ex- 
amined on  Wednesday,  commencing 
at  1  o'clock  P.  M. 


Mental  Arithmetic  Class. 

S.  Picket,  H.   Rogers, 

C.   Robinson,  A.  Scott, 

S.  Smith,  W.   Eply, 

J.  McCurdy,  F.   Drake, 

H.   Reynale,  J.   Welch, 

H.  Sejwick. 
4th  Arithmetic  Class. 
H.   Rogers,  S.   Picket, 

H.   Sejwick,  S.   Smith, 

A.  Parker,  J.   I  lass, 

E.  Thomas. 
Blake's  Philosophy  Class. 
A.   Faulkner,  P.  Toles, 

E.   Hartman,  W.  Davis, 


J- 

E. 
D. 

J- 

W. 

\V. 


Shannon,  F.  Smith. 

1st  Gr.\.m>l\r  Cl.vss. 
Lee,  H.  McCurdy, 

^IcNair,  A.   Bradner, 

McCurdy,  E.   Hartman, 

Davis,  S.   Brown, 

Clark,  O.   Frost. 

CoMSTOCK's  Philosophy  Cl.vss. 
H.   Sprague,       H.   Bean,      J     Zeliner. 

The  following  Classes  will  be  ex- 
amined on  Friday,  commencing  at  9 
o'clock  A.   JI. 

2d  Arithmetic  Cl.vss. 
E.   Payne,  ().   Frost, 

E.   Lee,      C.   Newton.     S.  Brown, 
1st  Alcjebra  Class. 


J.  Zehner, 
J.   McCurdy, 
A.   Bradner, 
G.   Reynale, 
H.   Bean, 
J.  McNair, 


D.  McNair, 
W.   Day, 
G.   Smith, 
J.  Hammond, 
O.  Frost, 
M.   Porter. 


1st  L.\TIN  Class. 
(i.   Reynale,  W.  Fitch, 

G.  Smith,  A.   Bradner, 

W.  Day,  M.   Porter 

A.  Fullerton,  J.  Moyer. 

2d  Latin  Class. 
J    McNair,  W.   Fitch 

N.  Porter,  J.   JlcCurdy, 

I-I.  Sprague,  D.  Young. 

Sl'KX'EVINO    Cl.\SS. 

S.  Ingols,  L.  Stutson, 

A.   Dorr,  J-  Zehner, 

J    Hammond. 


112 


DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 


[Dansville  Academy  Examinations.] 


LADIES'        DEPARTMENT 

COMMENCIJSG  ON  TUESDAY,  March  8, 1837. 


Exercises    to    commence    March     8, 
9  o'clock,  A.  M. 

Class  in  Emerson's  Arithmetic. 

Minerva  E.  Norton. 

Class  in  Geography. 

Caroline  Smith,      Minerva  E.  Norton, 

Clals  In  Mental  Arithmetic. 
L.  Becliwith,  S.  Smith, 

H.  Fensdermacher,  M.  A.  Niles, 
A.   B.  Means,  E.   Hoveland. 

L.  Cook. 

Class  in  Olney's  Geography. 
L.  Beckwith,  S.  Smith, 

H.  Fensdermacher,  M.  A.  Niles, 
A.   B.  Means,  E.   Hoveland 

E.  Drake 

Second  Class  in  Grammar. 

F.  B.  Faulkner,  A.  B.  Means 
H.  Fensdermacher,  S.  Hammond 
L.  Cook,  L.   Rogers, 

L.   Beckv?ith,  M.  Shannon, 

S.  Pickett,  E.  Welch. 

Exercises   to    commence   March  8,  1 
o'clock,  P.  M. 

Class  in  Maltebrun's  Geography. 
S.  Hammond,  L.  Rogers. 

F.  B.   Faulkner. 

Class  in  History  United  States. 
S.   Hammond,  M.  Shannon, 

Second  Class  in  Arithmetic. 
L.   Rogers,  M.  Shannon, 

S.  Hammond,  I,  Cook, 

F.  B.  Faulkner,  E.    Drake, 

M.  Smith,  E.   Welch. 

Exercises  to  commence    March  9th, 
at  9  o'clock  A.  M. 

First  Class  in  Arithmetic. 
M.  Enos,  S.  A.  McCartney, 

S.   Rogers,  M.   Gillespie, 


R.  K.  Bennett,  S.  M.  Bouton, 

A.  Everett,  S.  Cook, 

E.  M.  House,  E.  Smith, 
C.   Dunkelbury. 

Class  in  Smelle's  Philosophy. 
C.   H.   Bradner,  M.  Shepard. 

First  Class  in  Grammar. 
S.  M.  Bouton,  A.  Everett, 

C.  H.   Bradner,  R.  R.  Bennett, 

M.   Enos,  E.   Lockhart, 

S.  Cook,  S.   Rogers, 

C.  Dunklebury,  M.  Southwick, 

E.  Smith,  M.  Shepard, 

S.  A.  McCartney,  M.  Smith, 

M.  E.   Reynale. 

Exercises    to  commence   March    9th 
at  1  o'clock  P.  M. 

Class  in  Rhetoric. 
E.  Lockhart,  M.  Southwick, 

S.  M.  Bouton. 

Class  in  Geometry. 
E.  M.  House,  M.  Southwick. 

Class  in  Comstock's  Philosophy. 
S.  A.  McCartney,  M.   Gillespie 

M.  E.  Reynale,  S.  M.    Boulen, 

S.  C.  Stevens,  E.  Smith, 

Exercises    to  commence  March  9,  at 
7  o'clock,  P.  M. 

Class  in  Chemistry. 
M.  Southwick,  E.  Lockhart, 

C.   H.  Bradner,  M.  Shepard, 

S.  C.  Stevens. 

Class  in  Geography  op  the 
Heavens. 
M.  Shepard,  M.  Southwick, 

C.   H.  Bradner,  R.   R.   Bennett, 

M.  Enos,  E.   M.   House, 

E.    Lockhart,  S.   C.   Stevens. 


.LvcYnxT  noc[-i\fiixrs  113 

|("oiitributed  by  Miss  Martha  V',.  Lemen.] 

MOSES  VAN  CAMPEN. 


Dansville,  July  18,  1844. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  "Dansville  Republican." 

Sir, 

In  justice  to  my  own 
feelings,  1  must  request  you,  not  to  make  use  of  mv  name  as  President  of  the 
"Young  Hickory  .Association,"  in  this  village.  In  your  paper  of  this  date,  I 
find  an  address  purporting  to  have  been  made  by  myself,  at  the  meeting  of 
that  Association,  on  Saturday  last,  at  the  Committee  Room.  I  pronounce  that 
statement  false.  Those  words  are  not  mine;  and  I  must  particularly  notice 
the  following  expression  in  your  statement  as  especially  offensive  to  my  feelings. 

"He,"  Jlajor  Van  Canipen,  "said  the  enthusiasm  and  spirit  which  pre- 
vailed, reminded  him  of  the  days  when  the  Democrats  erected  Liberty-poles, 
and  u'oe  called  II '///!,'.•■■,  and  those  who  have  now  'stolen  the  livery  of  Heaven 
to  serve  the  Devil  in,'  were  called  Torus." 

I  never  used  the  language,  and  I  disown  the  sentiment.  I  request  you  to 
retract  the  statement;  and  I  insist  that  you  shall  not  make  use  of  my  name  in 
future  in  favor  of  any  political  party  without  my  permission. 

I  have  hoped  that  the  increasing  infirmities  of  age  might  furnish  an  excuse 
for  my  withdrawing  myself  from  the  political  contest  which  divide  my  friends 
and  fellow  citizens,  and  for  my  being  satisfied  with  a  silent  vote  for  the  man 
and  measures,  whose  success  will  in  my  opinion  best  secure  the  good  of  the 
country.  But  I  will  not  permit  my  love  of  quiet  to  be  abused  in  this  man- 
ner.— My  character  is  more  precious  to  me  than  my  repose.  I  desire  to  leave 
the  world  with  my  good  wishes  to  all — at  peace  with  all  parties — and  that  I 
hope  I  may  still  do,  when  under  these  peculiar  circumstances  I  feel  compelled 
to  clear  mv  character  from  the  imputation  you  have  thrown  upon  it  by  stat- 
ing my  views  upon  the  great  questions  to  be  decided  at  our  next  election. 

I  am  opposed  lo  the  immediate  Annexation  of  Texas,  I  would  consider  it 
as  a  violation  of  our  Treaty  with  Mexico,  and  a  Declaration  of  War  against 
that  (Government. 

I  am  in  favor  ■<(  the  present  Tariff;   and  opposed  to    its  repeal  or  reducti.m. 

In  conclusion  I  implore  my  fellow  citizens  of  all  parties  to  leave  me  in 
the  peace  and  quiet  that  best  suit  my  years,  and  which  I  supposed  I  had  fairly 
purchased  by  my  humble  and  faithful  services  to  the  cause  of  Liberty  in  many 
bloody  scenes  of  suffering  and  danger  throughout  the  whole  Revolutionary 
War.  It  by  that  Free  offering  of  the  best  strength  and  blood  of  my  best  days, 
I  have  not  earned  riches  or  fame  from  my  countryman,  surely  I  have  at  least 
deserved,  that,  at  Four  Score  Years  and  seven,  my  infirmities  should  not 
be  thus  abused  nor  my  gray  hairs  dislionored  by  being  thus  falsely  represented 
to  the  world  as  uttering  against  those  whom  I  love  and  honor,  the  language 
of  vulgar  profanity,   and  wanton  insult. 

JI(.)SES   VAN   CAMPEN. 


114  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

t:5 


Declamations  and  Compositions. 

TUESDAY  BVBJSIJSG,  Novevnber  30th,  1853. 


prayer rev.  o.  r  hoavard. 

m:xjsic. 

1.  ORATION— Extract,    Fbancis  Lindslby. 

2.  "  "      Gkandison  Toxjsey. 

3.  "  "      A.  Hammond  Hicks. 

4.  "  "        Granger  Egsleston. 

5.  "  "      Wm.  J.  Sharp. 

MCTJSIC. 

6.  ORATION— Lawrence, Dobr  Faulkner. 

7.  "  Extract, Judson  Mbrritt. 

8.  "  Anonymous,    Matthew  P.  McCartney. 

9.  "  Lacey, John  Hasler. 

10.  "  HaUeck, Geo.  G.  Wood,  Jr. 

MTJSIC. 

11.  ORATION— PhiUips, Alonzo  T.  Welch. 

12.  "  Henry, John  W.  Perine. 

13.  "  Milford  Bard, Joseph  M.  Bristol. 

14.  DIALOGUE— Loehiel's  Warning, R.  T.  Wood,  ( 

Byron  T.  Squires.  ( 

15.  DIALOGUE— Brutus  and  Cassius, Chas.  A.  Thompson,  ( 

Jonathan  B.  Morey.  f 
]va:xjsic. 

16.  ( )  RATION — Anonymous, Geo.  Stilwell. 

17.  COMPOSITION— Memory, Sarah  Tousey. 

18.  "  Contentment, Jane  Taft. 

19.  "  Nature, Mary  Welch. 

20.  •'  Firmness Gertrude  J.  Barrett. 

21.  COLLOQUY— Fashion, Abby  Clark, 

Margaret  Baldwin 

22.  READING- Concert  Exercise, Class 

MTJSIC. 

23.  ORATION — Verplanek, Frederick  Hartman. 

24.  ''  Everett Henry  O.  Griffith. 

25.  "  Sprague Chas.  A.  Thompson. 

26.  "  Madison, Jonathan  B.  Morey. 

37.  DIALOGUE— The  Doctor  in  spite  of  himself; 

Gregory David  Keihle.  |  James, John  Hasler. 

Sir  Jasper, George  S,  Jones.  |   Harrv, Joseph  M.  Bristol. 

Leander E.  T.  Wood.  |   Davy Alonzo  T.  Welch. 

IvITJSIO. 

28.  ORATION— (Original,)  Patriotism, Geo.  S.  Jones. 

29.  "  "  America, R.  T.  Wood. 

30.  "  "  The  Scholar's  Hope, Dayid  Keihle. 

MiTJSIC.  ajKNKUICTION". 

Dansville,  November  Uth,  1853. 

R.  F.  HICKS,  Teacher. 


Herald  Power  Press,  Dansville. 


ANCIENT  DOCUMENTS  115 

DISTRICT  NO.  2. 

CIjOSING  EXIJIiCfSES  AT  CAWASEBAGA  HALL, 

Wednesday  Evening,  Sept.  14, 1859. 

J.  B.  MOREY,  Teacher. 


PRAYER. 

3.  EXORDIUM, Elmer  Harasher. 

4.  DISCIPLINE Jefferson   Grover. 

5.  GrREAT  Results  from  Little  Causes,  Calvin  Dunham. 
6    THE  AMERICAN  FLAG, Jno.  T.  McCurdy. 

7.  CATILINE  S  REPLY, Theodore  W.  Chapin. 

8.  PRIDE,   (Original) Miss  Harriet  White. 

SELECT  READING, Class  B. 


MUSIC 


11.  LOVE  OF  COUNTRY, James  Harrison. 

12.  No  ExcBLLEXCB  WITHOUT  LABOR Henry  Porter. 

13.  HOME.  (Original)    Mibs  Frances  Smith. 

14    THE  NOBILITY  OP  LABOR, George  Bulkley. 

15.  NORTHERN  LABORERS, George  Shull. 

16.  THE  RAIN  DROP.  (Original) Miss  Lotta  Rose. 

SELECT  READING, Class  A. 


MUSIC 

19.   AMERICAN  HISTORY Herbert  Tolfree. 

20  KNOWLEDGE  IS  POWER James  Wilson. 

21  LIFE.  (Originsl) Miss  Aia^^liaHennesy. 

22  THE  PRESEN  C  AGE Henry  Penstermacher. 

23  PRINTING,    Edumrid  J.  Burke. 

24  ANGEL  GUIDES,  (Original.) Miss  Harriet  Porter. 


PEDANTRY 

DIGIT Edwin  F.  Sweet  |  Sksquiphdalia,  W.  I.  Bulkley. 

DRONE, George  Bnlkley.  1  TRILL,   Herbert  Tolfree. 

MlfsiC 

27.  LIBERTY  AND  UNION,    Joseph  Young. 

28.  THE  VALUE  OF  REPUTATION Amos  Keihle, 

29    FAREWELL,   (Original) Miss  Libbie  Owen. 

30.  VINDICATION  FROM  TREASON,  William F.  Bulkley. 

31.  THE  CLOSING  YEAR Edwin  F.  Sweet. 

BENEDICTION 


m 


■mn 


CJ/APTJiR  XIII 
THe  Doty  Romance 

TOLD  BY  DR.    A.    L.    (ilLBEKT 

LoelvwcHid  L.  Doty  as  a  Boy  in  Dansville — Arrestecl  for  Robbing  the  Mail — 
Taken  to  Rochester  on  Paclcet  Boat — Exciting  Experience — Innocence 
Established — Triumphant  Return — Subsequent  Life. 

N"  the  autumn  of  1S41,  or  the  spring  of  1842,  there  came 
with  evident  haste  into  m}-  father's  store  a  young  boy  who 
asked  rapidly  in  a  soft  voice  for  a  burlap  needle,  paid  for 
it,  and  departed  as  hastily  as  he  came.  "Who  is  that?" 
quickly  followed  his  going.  No  one  could  give  answer,  but 
the  slight  form,  open,  smiling  face,  black  eyes  and  hair, 
eager  manner  and  sudden  departure,  had  in  a  moment 
aroused  a  desire  to  know  who  he  was,  and  where  he  be- 
longed. On  seeing  him  enter  the  grocery  store  of  C.  Hub- 
bard some  one  remarked,  "That  must  be  a  Doty  boy  from 
Groveland.  I  understood  Hubbard  was  to  have  such  a 
boy."  He  soon  returned  for  another  needle,  and  while  getting  it,  I 
learned  they  were  packing  dried  apples  and  sewing  up  the  sacks;  this 
was  all  in  a  flash,  and  he  was  gone.  Thus  did  Lrickwood  Lycjn  Doty 
introduce  himself  to  Dansville.  Not  long  after  this,  the  store  where 
he  was  first  employed  was  sold  out,  and  young  Dotv  entered  the  store 
of  a  Mr.  Barrett,  remaining  perhaps  a  year;  then  was  in  the  store  of 
Robert  S.  Faulkner,  possibly  another  year.  Then  he  was  employed 
by  jMerritt  Brown  as  deputy  postmaster,  in  a  building  just  south  of 
the  old  Joshua  Shepard  store,  then  belonging  to  Charles  Shepard,  and 
occupied  by  my  father,  it  being  the  first  store  south  of  the  old  Pres- 
byterian church  on  the  east  side  of  lower  ]\Iain  street.  The  postofifice 
building  was  mo\-ed  into  the  space  between  the  Shepard  store  and  the 
store  of  Goundry  &  Kern.  The  front  was  used  for  the  postoffice,  and 
the  rear  by  Dr.  B.  L.  Hovey,  .as  a  medical  office. 

"Lock"  Dot}',  as  he  was  universally  called,  had  nearly  the  entire 
charge  of  the  office,  as  Mr.  Brown  was  well  advanced  in  years  and 
somewhat  infirm.  The  front  of  the  second  story  of  the  Shepard  store 
was  occupied  by  William  AIcA'icker  as  a  harness  shop,  a  stairway 
leading  up  to  it  on  the  south  outside. 

()ne  afternoon  in  the  summer  of  1844  or  1845  McA'icker  came  into 
the  store  with  ten  dollars  in  change  and  wanted  a  ten-dollar  bill  for  it, 
which  I  gave  him  at  the  desk.  He  placed  the  bill  in  the  letter,  folded 
it  after  the  style  of  those  days,  got  a  wafer  of  me,  sealed  it,  directed 
it,  placed  it  in  his  hat,  and  went  up  into  his  shop.  On  the  Friday 
following  some  one  entered  the  store,  much  excited,  and  said,  "The 
United  States  marshal  has  arrested  Lock  Doty  and  is  taking  him  olT 
to  Rochester  on  the  packet  which  has  just  gone.  The  marshal  would 
not  let  him  go  to  the  house  to  change  his  clothes,  but  searched  him, 
and  then  hurried  him  ofT.  All  that  he  would  say  was  that  he  was 
charged  with    robbing  the  mail."     We  were  all  astonished  and   father 

117 


118  DANSViLLE  OP  THE  PAST 

was  greatly  moved.  Handing  me  some  money,  he  said,  "Hurry  up, 
overtake  the  packet.  Here,  Esquire  Hubbard,  you  go  with  him,  and 
see  that  Doty  has  a  fair  show. "  Just  then  Abel  Edwards  of  West 
Sparta  was  driving  by  with  a  lumber  wagon,  father  ran  out  and  called 
him,  and  in  two  minutes  he  was  driving  furiously  down  Franklin 
street  to  overtake  the  packet.  This  he  accomplished  at  the  last  lock, 
before  reaching  Cumminsville.  Esquire  Hubbard  and  I  sprang  on 
board  as  the  boat  was  sinking  in  the  lock,  and  the  race  was  won. 
The  marshal  had  his  prisoner  in  the  forward  end  of  the  cabin,  and 
would  not  allow  any  one  to  approach,  or  speak  to  him.  Benjamin 
Bradley,  one  of  the  firm  of  A.  Bradley  &  Sons,  paper  manufacturers, 
and  Merritt  H.  Brown,  hardware  merchant,  and  son  of  the  postmaster, 
were  on  board.  After  some  consultation  Esquire  Hubbard  went  to 
the  marshal,  claimed  that  he  was  Doty's  attorney  and  counsel,  and 
demanded  opportunity  to  communicate  with  his  client.  The  marshal 
asked  Doty  if  he  wished  Hubbard  for  his  counsel,  and  he  answered 
that  he  did.  Then  Hubbard  was  allowed  to  converse  with  his  client. 
Doty  said,  he  remembered  McVicker  handed  him  a  letter  to  mail, 
thought  it  was  in  the  morning  while  he  was  sweeping  out  the  office; 
that  he  prepared  a  waybill  for  the  letter,  put  them  in  a  wrapper, 
marked  it  Rochester,  and  threw  it  on  the  large  table  where  otlier  pre- 
pared letters  and  papers  were  ready  for  the  mailbag.  When  the  call 
came  for  the  mail  he  hurried  them  all  into  the  bag,  locked  it,  and 
passed  it  out.  After  it  had  gone,  on  moving  a  large  sheet  of  paper, 
he  discovered  this  letter  left  over.  Throwing  it  had  caused  it  to  slide 
under  the  paper,  and  so  escaped  observation.  He  opened  the  wrapper, 
took  out  the  waybill,  stuck  it  in  his  vest  pocket  and  prepared  a  new 
one,  dating  it  for  the  next  mail.  This  was  all  he  knew  about  it,  only 
that  when  the  marshal  searched  him,  he  found  the  discarded  waybill 
in  his  pocket. 

We  reached  Rochester  early  in  the  evening,  and  on  being  asked 
what  disposition  he  would  make  of  his  prisoner  for  the  night,  the 
marshal  said  he  would  have  to  lodge  him  in  the  jail.  To  this  Bradley, 
Brown  and  Hubbard  strongly  objected;  said  they  were  satisfied  Doty 
was  guilty  of  no  crime,  claimed  that  his  character  was  above  suspicion, 
that  nothing  had  been  proved  against  him;  said  they  would  guarantee 
his  safe  keeping  at  the  Eagle  hotel,  and  have  him  before  the  court  in 
the  morning.  Finally  the  marshal  yielded  and  delivered  him  to  their 
keeping,  which,  in  fact,  was  no  keeping  at  all,  for  they  allowed  him 
to  go  where,  and  do  what  he  pleased.  Neither  he  nor  I  went  to  bed 
that  night.  We  talked  it  over  and  over,  discussed,  hoped,  feared,  and 
hoped  again.  We  went  out  into  the  street,  walked  back  and  forth  in 
front  of  the  hotel,  then  in  again,  to  repeat  the  whole  dismal  recital, 
and  wonder  for  the  hundredth  time,  what  could  have  become  of  that 
money. 

Daylight  came  at  last,  and  we  started  out  for  a  long  walk  down 
State  street.  I  proposed  that  we  call  on  Orlando  Hastings,  one  of 
Rochester's  most  distinguished  lawyers,  with  whom  I  was  slightly 
acquainted.  We  rang  the  door  bell,  and  a  young  lady,  presumably 
his  daughter,  came  to  the  door,  and  said  Mr.  Hastings  was  not  up. 
She  invited  us  in  and  went  to  inform  him  of  our  desire  to  see  him. 
He  soon  came  out  dressed  in  a  morning  wrapper,    greeted  us    kindly, 


THE  DOTY  ROMANCE  119 

and  sat  down  to  hear  what  we  had  to  say.  Our  story  was  soon  told, 
and  he  proceeded  to  cross  question  us,  to  all  of  which  we  replied  as 
■best  we  could,  and  begged  him  to  assist  Esquire  Hubbard  at  the  ex- 
amination. This  he  said  he  could  not  do,  but  he  could  send  to  a 
lawyer  who  could  do  for  us  better  than  he  could.  He  soon  handed 
Doty  a  note  to  a  lawyer  in  the  Arcade.  I  think  his  name  was  Garlock. 
The  note  was  nearly  in  these  words,  "I  send  you  a  young  man  charged 
with  robbing  the  mail.  He  is  entirely  innocent,  and  you  must  clear 
him."  We  went  to  the  Arcade  office,  found  our  man,  and  presented 
the  note.  He  looked  us  over,  asked  many  questions,  then  said,  "All 
right,  I  will  be  there  at  nine  o'clock."  Then  we  returned  to  the  hotel 
where  Doty  found  his  keepers  beginning  to  wonder  at  his  absence  but 
in  no  way  alarmed. 

The  appointed  hour  found  us  at  the  justice's  court  with  Doty  and 
his  lawyers,  the  marshal  and  his  counsel.  The  first  testimony  settled 
the  fact  that  the  letter  came  without  the  money,  that  it  had  been 
opened  and  resealed.  Then  the  waybills  found  in  the  prisoner's  pocket 
was  produced,  and  date  noted.  Then  the  waybill  of  the  next  day 
dated  accordingly,  with  Doty's  acknowledgment  that  both  waybills 
were  prepared  for  the  same  letter.  Then  Mr.  McVicker  was  sworn, 
and  narrated  what  occurred  in  the  store,  the  bringing  of  the  change 
to  me,  getting  the  ten  dollar  bill,  placing  it  in  the  letter  in  my  pres- 
ence, getting  from  me  a  wafer,  sealing  it  then  and  there.  He  then 
stated  that  he  took  the  letter  directly  from  the  desk  into  the  postoffice 
and  handed  it  into  Doty's  hand.  While  McVicker  was  being  cross- 
questioned  the  case  for  Doty  looked  hopeless,  and  I  was  almost  in 
despair.  An  Irish  woman  just  behind  me,  speaking  to  another  woman, 
said,  "Do  you  see  that  boy;  look  at  his  face;  he  never  stole  a  cint  in 
his  life,  the  lamb!"  At  that  moment  the  justice,  or  one  of  the  lawyers 
said,  "And  you  say  you  took  the  letter  containing  the  money  directly 
from  the  desk  in  the  store,  into  the  postoffice,  next  door,  and  placed  it 
in  the  hand  of  this  young  man?"  The  witness  answered,  "Yes,  sir." 
I  had  heard  him  make  a  statement  to  that  effect  before  and  it  awoke 
no  memory,  but  now  I  started  forward  and  told  Esquire  Hubbard  that 
McVicker  was  mistaken;  that  he  did  not  take  the  letter  into  the  post- 
office,  and  while  Hubbard  was  telling  Garlock,  the  justice  was  saying, 
"Mr.  Doty,  I  am  sorry,  but  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  do  otherwise  than 
hold  you."  While  he  was  yet  speaking,  Garlock  interrupted  him 
with  a  statement  of  what  I  had  said.  Immediately  the  justice  called 
Benjamin  Bradley,  and  I  returned  to  my  seat.  After  a  short  conver- 
sation with  Bradley  the  justice  said,  "Let  the  young  man  come  for- 
ward." I  went  and  was  sworn.  Then  the  justice  asked  me,  "Did 
you  hear  McVicker's  testimony?"  "Yes  sir."  "As  far  as  you  know, 
was  it  correct  ?"  "Mostly,  but  not  all. "  "State  what  you  know." 
"He  put  the  letter  in  his  hat,  put  his  hat  on  his  head,  and  went  up 
into  his  harness  shop.  He  did  not  go  into  the  postoffice.  Soon  after 
going  into  his  shop,  he  called  to  a  man  who  was  hitching  his  horse  in 
the  shade  across  the  street  something  about  a  harness,  and  a  moment 
later  he  came  down  the  stairs,  bareheaded,  carrying  a  single  harness, 
or  part  of  a  harness,  and  was  across  the  street,  perhaps  half  an  hour, 
talking  with  the  man,  and  changing  the  harness.  While  he  was  there 
with  the  man,  a  boy  who  was  working  for  him,  and  learning  the  trade. 


120  DA NS ]  'ILLE  OF  THli  PA S  T 

came  down  from  the  shop  and  asked  me  for  a  wafer,  which  I  gave  him, 
and  he  returned  into  the  shop. "  In  answer  to  some  questionings  by 
the  lawyers,  I  stated  that  the  boy  had  a  reputation  for  stealing. 

McVicker  was  then  recalled  and  asked,  "Did  you  hear  that 
young  man's  testimony?"  "Yes  sir."  "Did  he  tell  the  truth?" 
"I  think  he  did."  "Did  you  take  that  letter  from  the 
store  directly  to  the  postofifice  ? "  "I  think  not;  I  think  I  was 
mistaken."  "When  did  you  mail  that  letter?"  "I  think  it 
was  the  next  morning;  I  think  Doty  was  sweeping  out  the 
office."  "Where  was  that  letter  kept  from  the  time  you  sealed  it  in 
the  store  until  you  handed  it  to  Doty  at  the  postoffice,  the  next  day?" 
"In  my  hat."  "Where  was  your  hat  while  you  were  across  the  way?" 
"In  the  shop."  "Was  it  where  the  boy  could  have  access  to  it?" 
"Yes  sir."  "Where  was  your  hat  during  the  night ?"  "On  a  stand, 
in  the  hall  of  my  house. "  "Did  the  boy  have  access  to  that  hall?" 
"Yes,  he  passed  through  it  going  to  his  room."  "Did  you  know  that 
boy  had  a  reputation  for  stealing?"  "Yes."  "Had  you  known  of 
his  stealing?"  "Yes."  "Did  you  examine  that  letter  in  the  morn- 
ing?" "No,  I  took  it  from  my  hat  and  handed  it  to  Doty?"  "Did 
you  know  whether  the  money  was  in  it  when  you  handed  it  to  Doty  ?" 
"No,  I  supposed  it  was."  The  justice  then  declared  the  charge  not 
sustained.  "The  case  is  dismissed.  Mr.  Doty,  I  am  happy  to  say 
you  are  free. ' ' 

During  the  next  five  minutes  the  court  room  was  a  scene  of  con- 
fusion, and  congratulations  were  showered  upon  Doty  from  all  sides. 
We  soon  settled  with  Esquire  Garlock,  paid  our  hotel  bills,  and  made 
our  way  to  the  packet,  en  route  for  Dansville,  where  we  arrived  the 
next  morning  which  was  Sunday.  We  found  a  large  gathering  of 
friends  anxious  to  learn  the  fate  of  Doty.  We  did  not  have  to  declare 
it,  they  read  it  in  our  faces,  and  when  Lockwood  sprang  from  the  deck 
onto  the  dock,  a  happy,  free  man,  there  was  a  rush  to  grasp  his  hand, 
and  express  joy  at  his  coming  home  without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  of 
his  entire  innocence.  Mr.  Brown,  the  postmaster,  made  him  a  present 
of  fifty  dollars.  The  subsequent  career  of  this  estimable  and  brilliant 
young  man  is  probably  as  well  known  to  others  as  to  me.  His  whole 
life  honored  Dansville. 


CHAP'JliR  A/r 

Some    DetacKed  Facts 

The  Iroquois  League  of  the  Five  Nations,  whose  most  powerful 
nation,  the  vSenecas,  included  the  Indians  of  the  Genesee  A'alley,  was 
formed  in  1450,  and  the  Tuscaroras  were  admitted  in  1712,  making 
the  Six  Nations. 

The  French  under  the  Marquis  De  Nonville  invaded  the  Genesee 
Valley  in  1()S7,  and  were  valiantly  resisted  by  the  Senecas. 

When  Gen.  Sullivan's  army  came  tobacco  had  long  been  grown  in 
the  valley  and  was  considered  of  a  superior  quality. 

In  1S3()  there  were  five  tanneries  and  three  carding  and  cloth-dress- 
ing factories  in  Dansvillc,  with  a  population  of  only  l.tlOO,  and  in  1850 
there  were  about  lUU  saw  mills  within  two  miles  of  Dansville. 

The  Woodruff  Paper  Company  was  incorporated  in  186<)  with  a  cap- 
ital of  $40,()()(.l,  and  began  operations  in  1868.  It  was  the  first  mill  to 
manufacture  straw  pulp  in  the  United  .States  and  consumed  annually 
1,20(1  tons  of  straw. 

Bradley  &  Co.  erected  a  paper  mill  in  1S25  on  the  site  of  the  Wood- 
ruff mill  which  was  burned  four  times  within  20  years,  and  again  in 
1S54. 

"The  castle"  was  a  log  house  built  by  surveyors,  and  occupied  suc- 
cessively by  the  earliest  settlers  when  tiiey  first  came. 

Dansville  celebrated  Lee's  surrender  April  10,  1S()5,  with  a  parade, 
cannon-firing,  addresses  and  a  huge  bonfire. 

A  Fenian  meeting  was  held  April  2(i,  lS(i(),  which  was  presided  over 
by  Hon.  S.  D.  Faulkner  and  addressed  by  John  C.  O'Brien,  head 
centre  of  the  Fenian  brotherhood  of  the  state,  and  $200  was  raised  at 
the  meeting  to  help  the  Fenian  cause. 

In  1845  A.  R.  Knox  of  Dansville  published  a  224-page  volume  of 
American  anecdotes  of  adventures  from  eminent  authors,  compiled 
bv  George  W.  Stevens,  who  was  also  the  printer. 

Dr.  F.  M.  Ferine  has  a  pocket  memorandum  book  belonging  to  his 
gi-andfather,  William  Ferine,  with  accounts  dating  back  to  1789.  The 
book  is  leather  bound  and  has  a  brass  clasp. 

John  T.  McCurdy  has  a  pair  of  iron-bowed  spectacles,  presented  to 
his  great,  great,  great  grandfather  by  Rev.  Ozias  Els  of  Barhamstead, 
Ct.,  who  was  one  of  the  first  ministers  in  Connecticut  and  said  by 
him  to  have  come  over  in  the  Mayflower. 

Mr.  McCurdy  also  has  his  grandfather  James  McCurdy 's  "Practice," 
a  manuscript  book  of  examples  in  arithmetic  illustrating  questions 
and  answers  written  on  the  old-fashioned,  handmade  foolscap  unruled. 
The  examples  are  worked  out  in  pounds,  shillings  and  pence.  The 
writing  is  very  plain  and  the  ink  retains  a  good  black. 

121 


CHARLES    ROTHE   HOUSE 


ARTMAN   GRIST   MILL 


SOJ//'  DETACHliD  FACTS  12.^ 

On  Friday,  the  13th  of  May,  1S3(.,  the  people  of  Dansvillc  and  vi- 
cinity celebrateil  the  Dansville  branch  (canal).  The  day  opened  with 
firing  of  cannon.  A  deputation  came  over  from  Nunda,  40  in  a  car- 
riage (splendid  car)  shaped  like  a  canal  boat,  drawn  by  seven  horses. 
Music,  toasts  and  a  public  dinner. — Livingston  Register,  May  17, 
183(). 

May  7,  1834. — Only  eight  and  one-half  days  from  New  York  by 
packet,  fine  and  superfine  brand-cloths. 

The  Dansville  Model  Water  Cure  opened  for  the  reception  of  patients 
June  1,  1854,  Wm.  Stephens,    Mrs.  J.  P.  Stephens  physicians. 

The  volunteers  of  the  13(ith  regiment,  recruited  in  Dansville  and 
vicinity,  went  to  the  rendezvous  at  Portage  on  a  canal  boat. 

July  14,  1868,  the  mercury  in  Dansville  thermometers  went  up  at 
noon  to  102  degrees  in  the  shade. 

In  the  Grant  and  Seymour  campaign  of  1868  there  was  a  joint  pub- 
lic discussion  of  issues  in  the  Democratic  wigwam  between  S.  D. 
Faulkner  and  D.  W.  Noves. 

The  Dansville  Sportsmen's  Association  was  organized  May  7,  1875, 
with  Henry  J.  Faulkner  as  president,  John  Hyland  vice  president  and 
F.  J.  Robbins  secretary  and  treasurer. 

Bishop  McQuaid's  first  visit  to  Dansville  was  May  8,  1S6S,  and  his 
coming  was  signalized  by  a  long  procession  of  Catholic  societies,  car- 
riages with  delegates,  cavalry,  band,  etc. 

The  first  reunion  after  the  war  of  the  old  13th  regiment  took  place 
in  Dansville  Sept.  30,  1869,  when  there  was  a  parade  and  drill,  speeches, 
a  presentation,  a  collation  and  a  ball.  The  Rochester  battalion  was 
present. 

The  first  regular  firemen's  review  of  the  new  Dansville  fire  depart- 
ment took  place  Oct.  10,  1S77.  In  line  following  the  band  were  Union 
Hose,  25  members;  Fearless  Hook  and  Ladder,  23  members;  Protect- 
ives,  25  members. 

The  brick  Methodist  church  on  Chestnut  avenue  was  dedicated  by 
Bishop  Peck  Nov.  8,  1877. 

The  Dansville  Grange  at  Stone's  Falls  had  a  great  fair  and  auction 
sale  Dec.  26,  1877,  to  aid  in  raising  money  for  building  a  Grange  hall. 

The  Livingston  County  Historical  society  was  organized  in  1876. 

Dansville  was  slightly  shaken  by  an  earthquake  at  11  a.  m.,  Oct. 
20,  1870,  the  vibrations  continuing  half  a  minute.  The  gas  pendants 
swung,  walls  were  slightly  cracked,  and  some  dishes  were  broken. 

The  Sullivan  campaign  centennial  was  celebrated  at  Geneseo  Sept. 
16,  1879. 

Dansville  is  the  only  place  in  Livingston  county  mentioned  in  the 
Century  Dictionary  of  Names. 

The  golden  wedding  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  James  C.  Jackson  was  cele- 
brated Sept.  10,  1880. 

April  25  and  26,1881,  St.  Peter's  church  celebrated  its  semi-centennial. 

June  29,  1881,  the  Genesee  valley  canal  property  was  sold  by  state 
officials  at  Mt.  Morris. 


H.    M.    BOUGHTON    HOUSE 


WILLIAM   H.   HARTMAN   RESIDENCE 


so.}//;  DEIWCIIED  FACTS  125 

Clara  Barton  lectured  on  the  Red  Cmss  August  7  and  22,  ]881,  and 
a  branch  society  was  organized  here  on  the  latter  date — the  first  in  the 
countr)-. 

In  January,  1SS2,  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson  retired  from  active  labor 
as  chief  physician  of  Our  Home  on  the  Hillside. 

A  charter  amendment  extended  the  boundaries  of  the  village  in  l.S,S2. 

February  .^,  18.S2,  was  the  slipperiest  day  ever  knoAvn  in  Dansville. 
The  streets  were  all  floored  with  smoothest  ice,  and  scores  <  if  pedes- 
trians fell. 

The  new  Sanatorium  was  dedicated  on  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary 
of  the  institution — Oct.  1,  IHS.i. 

Reception  to  Clara  Barton  at  Presbyterian  chapel,  February  24, 
18S(i,  in  view  of  her  approaching  removal  to  Washington.  A.  O.  Bun- 
nell presided  and  Miss  Barton  told  the  stor\'  of  her  life. 

A  board  of  trade  was  organized  Feb.  7,  ]SS<),  with  A.  O.  Bunnell 
as  president;  B.  O.  Foss,  H.  W.  DeLong  and  H.  F.  Dyer  as  vice 
presidents;  C.  W.  Woolcver  as  treasurer,  and  B.  H.  Oberdorf  as  sec- 
retary. 

The  seventieth  anni\-ersary  of  ^Xmerican  Odd  Fellowship  was  cele- 
brated by  Canaseraga  Lodge  .April  2'),  1SS'),  and  attended  by  large 
delegations  from  Bath,  Mt.  Morris,  \Vayland  and  Geneseo. 

The  first  graduating  class  of  the  Unifm  sclmol  in  1S')(I  numbered 
eight — Ma.x  Sweet,  Jessie  M.  Osborn,  Emma  L.  Tenney,  Carrie  E. 
Stone,  Lillie  S.  Brayton,  Ed.  T.  Fairchild,  \"ira  Karcher  and  Helen 
il.  Edwards. 

The  Sanatorium's  monthly  magazine,  the  Laws  of  Life,  completed 
its  thirty-si.xth  year  in  December,  IS't.i,  and  was  discontinued.  In 
its  most  prosperous  days  it  had  a  far-reaching  circulation  of  over  10,- 
U0( ). 

As  early  as  1839  a  small  furnace  and  machine  shop  were  erected 
where  the  George  Sweet  Manufacturing  company  shops  are  now. 

The  Erie  Railway  Co.  discontinued  its  service  on  the  Dansville 
branch  to  Mt.  ]\Iorris  Oct.  22,  1891,  and  the  Dansville  &  Mt.  Morris 
Railroad  Co.  resumed  authority  over  it,  and  commenced  running 
trains  December  7,  the  service  having  been  interrupted  two  weeks. 

The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
was  celebrated  in  Dansville  April  6,  1891. 

There  was  a  severe  frost  in  the  valley  on  the  night  of  Alay  17,  1891, 
which  did  great  damage  to  growing  things.  Plums,  cherries  and 
peaches  were  nearly  all  nipped  to  death,  and  grapes  were  greatly  dam- 
aged. Early  strawberries,  corn,  potatoes,  peas,  etc.,  were  badly  hurt. 
So  was  young  nursery  stock. 

Geneseo  celebrated  her  centennial  Sept.  11,  1890. 

The  new  Presbyterian  church  was  dedicated  March  15,  1892.  Rev. 
H.  C.  Riggs  of  Rochester,  was  the  preacher.  There  were  seventeen 
visiting  ministers.     The  cost  of   the  church  was  a  little  over  |13,50O. 

Dansville  Advertiser  building  caught  fire  Dec.  22,  1892,  and  was 
badly  burned. 


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WOODRUFF   PAPER   MILL 

KNOWLTON  PAPBR  MILL 


SO^rE  DETACHED  FACTS  127 

The  National  Nurseryman  for  April,  1893,  stated  that  Dansville 
was  one  of  the  greatest  nursery  centers  of  the  world  and  that  the 
whole  number  of  growers  was  55;  and  the  whole  number  of  acres  in 
nursery  stock  was  1,2(10;  that  most  of  the  Dansville  stock  comprised 
staple  fruits. 

The  twentieth  anniversary  of  Coterie  was  celebrated  Oct.  31,  1893, 
at  the  residence  of  J.  M.  Edwards. 

The  Livingston  Circulating  Library  became  the  Dansville  Public 
Library  in  January,  1894,  by  the  action  of  the  regents. 

The  number  of  volumes  in  the  Dansville  Public  Library  is  about 
4,400  and  the  circulation  in  the  last  library  year  was  about  2,750. 

June  8,  1894,  Ambrose  S.  Murray,  Jr.,  by  appointment  of  Judge 
Wallace,  took  possession  of  the  Dansville  &  Mt.  Morris  railroad  as  re- 
ceiver. 

Dansville  Grange  celebrated  its  twenty-fifth  birthday,  April  14,  1895. 

The  Dansville  Gas  and  Electric  Light  Co.  was  organized  Dec.  14, 
1895,  by  the  election  of  directors  and  officers  as  follows:  J.  B.  Morey, 
George  A.  Sweet,  Charles  H.  Rowe,  William  Kramer,  B.  PL  Ober- 
dorf.  President,  J.  B.  Morey;  vice  president,  William  Kramer;  sec- 
retary and  treasurer,  Charles  H.  Rowe. 

July  22,  1896,  the  taxpayers  of  Dansville  decided  to  have  new  water 
works,  for  domestic  as  Avell  as  fire  purposes,  by  a  vote  of  268  to  43. 

The  George  Sweet  Manufacturing  Go's  buildings  were  burned  June 
1,  1897,  the  loss  being  about  $40,00(1  and  the  insurance  $10,oO0. 

Sept.  19,  1899,  the  board  of  trustees  ordered  condemnation  proceed- 
ings for  the  purpose  of  tapping  mill  creek  for  additional  water  supply, 
in  case  a  settlement  could  not  be  made  with  the  owners  of  water  rights. 

Oct.  4,  1899,  the  board  of  trustees  granted  a  thirty-year  franchise 
to  the  Dansville  Gas  and  Electric  Co. 

Main  street  was  niacadamized  from  Ferine  street  to  the  Altmeyer 
building  in  1899  and  1900. 

The  golden  jubilee  of  St.  Patrick's  church  was  observed  with  solemn 
ceremonies,  July  15,  1900, and  there  was  a  sermon  by  Bishop  McQuaid. 

Jan.  23,  1898,  Rev.  George  K.  Ward,  who  had  been  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  twenty-five  years,  tendered  his  resignation  at  the 
close  of  his  morning  sermon. 

The  Citizens  Band  of  Dansville  was  organized  Nov.  17,  1896. 

A  hurricane  swept  across  Dansville,  June  11,  1898,  which  did  a 
good  deal  of  damage,  felling  large  trees,  tearing  down  wires  and  signs, 
partially  unroofing  several  buildings,  and  injuring  young  nursery 
stock  considerably. 

Sept.  1,  1899,  the  free  delivery  of  mail  matter  was  commenced  in 
Dansville. 

Dansville  public  library  was  moved  from  the  Maxwell  block  into 
more  spacious  rooms  in  the  Dyer  block  about  the  middle  of  April, 
1899. 

The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  Union  Hose  company  was  cel- 
ebrated by  the  formal  opening  of  the  new  Union  Club  rooms  June  19, 
1899. 


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STREET   FAIR   IN    DANSVILLE 

HUBBARD'S    FALLS 


SO.}fE  DETACH liD  FACTS  129 

The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Dansville  library  was  celebrated 
June  18,  1S')9.  A.  O.  Bunnell  presided  and  made  an  introductory 
historical  address,  a  paper  was  read  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  E.  Sweet,  and 
remarks  were  made  by  W.  R.  Eastman,  state  inspector  of  libraries. 
There  was  also  fine  vocal  and  instrumental  music. 

The  fortieth  anniversary  of  the  Dansville  Sanatorium  was  cel- 
ebrated Oct.  1,  1898. 

The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  Coterie  was  celebrated  in  the  Pres- 
byterian chapel  Oct.  25,  1898,  with  history,  poem,  songs,  the  reading 
of  several  papers  and  a  banquet.  The  chapel  was  beautifully  dec- 
orated with  a  profusion  of  autumn  leaves,  flowers  and  gadding  vines. 

The  Lackawanaa  station  buildings  on  East  hill  were  burned  Dec.  13, 
1898.     Loss  about  $7,000. 

Sep.  19,  1901,  there  was  a  great  gathering  in  the  opera  house  in 
memory  of  assassinated  President  McKinley,  with  tributes  by  A.  O. 
Bunnell,  chairman.  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson,  James  H.  Baker,  Rev. 
Father  Krischel,  F.  W.  Noyes  and  Prof.  E.  J.  Bonner. 

The  McNair  house  seen  at  the  right  of  the  cut  on  page  29,  the 
Rothe  house  on  page  122  and  the  Boughton  and  Hartman  houses  on 
page  124  were  the  first  brick  houses  erected  in  Dansville,  and  among 
the  first  in  all  this  section  of  country. 

The  street  fair  in  Dansville  illustrated  on  page  128  was  held  Octo- 
ber 2-7,  1899. 

The  Artman  grist  mill  (see  page  128)  located  at  the  entrance,  or 
rather  exit,  of  Poag's  Hole,  is  one  of  the  oldest  mills  of  the   vicinity. 


CHAPTER   XV 
Later  Contribtitions 


A  FE"W  "WOOD  NOTES  uSf  By  Theodore  M.  Schlick 

East  Hill  in  all  its  primitive  grandeur  must  have  presented  a  mag- 
nificent spectacle  to  the  early  pioneer.  The  writer's  recollection  dates 
back  but  thirty  years  and  in  that  time  considerable  change  has  taken 
place  in  its  general  aspect.  When  the  Lackawanna  railroad  was  put 
through  in  the  early  80s  it  left  a  wound  on  the  hill's  broad  face  that 
seemed  doubtful  if  it  would  ever  heal.  But,  left  alone,  nature  soon 
asserts  herself  and  many  of  these  unsightly  cuts  are  now  being  grad- 
ually covered  with  vines  and  shrubbery.  The  old  crumbling  retain- 
ing wall  above  the  dugway  is  still  an  eyesore,  but  even  that  will  in 
time  be  partially  hidden  by  the  forest  growth  springing  up  around  it. 
Pieces  of  woods  that  were  cut  off  fifteen  years  ago  are  again  being 
reclaimed  by  nature.  South  of  the  old  Stadler  vineyard,  above  the 
Lackawanna  railroad,  was  once  a  flourishing  vineyard,  but  abandoned 
by  its  owner  it  soon  lapsed  into  a  wild  state  and  is  today  a  dense  mass 
of  almost  impenetrable  thickets,  the  haunt  of  the  ruffed  grouse  and 
other  wood  folk.  Traces  of  the  grape  vines  still  remain,  bearing  an 
annual  crop  of  half  wild  fruit.  The  old  Stadler  vineyard  itself,  now 
owned  by  the  Lackawanna  R.  R.  Co.,  has  not  been  worked  in  a 
number  of  years.  As  a  rule  vineyards  have  taken  the  place  of  the 
cleared  forest,  compensating  to  a  great  extent  for  the  original  state. 
Thus,  harrassed  by  the  axe  for  nearly  half  a  century  and  for  nearly 
twenty  years  by  annual  fires  caused  by  sparks  from  passing  locomo- 
tives, the  face  of  the  old  hill  still  presents  an  tmusually  wild  appear- 
ance. Northeast  from  the  village  there  is  still  a  goodly  forest  growth 
and  the  same  southeastward.  The  fringe  of  pines  on  the  summit  of 
the  hill  a  trifle  southeast  of  the  village  has  been  thinned  out  consider- 
ably during  the  past  few  years,  much  to  the  consternation  of  a  great 
colony  of  crows,  who  since  time  immemorial  have  used  these  pines 
as  a  roost.  A  few  stragglers  still  survive  but  the  main  body  seem  to 
have  gone  elsewhere.  It  was  an  interesting  sight  ten  or  more  years 
ago  to  witness  these  sable  hosts  leave  their  roost  at  dawn  for  the 
western  hills,  and  then  see  them  come  streaming  back  in  long  pro- 
cessions at  nightfall.  There  was  usually  a  noisy  powwow  and  much 
circling  about  before  peace  finally  settled  on  the  roost. 

^^    ^ 

The  passing  years  have  dealt  gently  with  the  Bradner  or  Barnhart 
woods  southeast  of  the  village.  It  is  remarkable  and  commendable 
on  the  part  of  the  owners  that  such  a  charming  piece  of  woodland, 
situated  almost  at  our  very  doors,  should  have  escaped  the  woodman's 
axe.  Indeed,  but  little  change  has  taken  place  in  its  general  features 
since  the  writer  first  rambled  amid  its  devious  byways  in  the  summer 
of   1871.     A  row  of  noble  oaks,  that  stretched  out  like  an  arm  on  the 

130 


LATER  CONTIilBUTIOXS  131 

northwest  corner,  was  cut  off  many  years  ago  to  be  afterwards  con- 
verted into  barrels.  This  was  the  only  part  that  was  entirely  cleared 
within  the  writer's  recollection.  Since  then  many  goodly  trees, 
picked  out  here  and  there,  have  been  sacrificed,  but  only  as  they  were 
needed.  Today  the  rambler  in  their  midst  cannot  fail  to  percei.ve 
what  noble  specimens  of  forest  trees  still  exist  here — oak,  hard  and 
soft  maples,  hickory,  beech,  tulip,  elm,  ash,  etc.  There  are  also  some 
good-sized  white  pines  here  and  there.  The  last  of  the  great  pines 
that  were  at  one  time  plentiful  in  this  vicinity,  met  its  downfall  in  the 
autumn  of  1890.  It  was  an  immense  tree.  The  bole  was  over  four 
feet  in  diameter  at  its  base,  but  its  lordly  top  had  long  been  broken 
off.  It  was  a  fragment  of  the  primeval  woods,  "full  of  wind  voices 
and  memories  of  a  lost  race  of  men  and  a  vanishing  race  of  birds  and 
mammals."  In  the  northeast  corner  is  a  spring,  rendering  the  ground 
swaley  for  some  distance,  and  which  was  formerly  covered  with  thick- 
ets of  alder,  elder,  hornbeam  and  other  growth.  In  times  past  wood- 
cock haunted  this  cover  and  on  one  occasion  the  writer  scared  a 
wood  duck  from  its  depths.  To  find  a  ruffed  grouse  here  is  a  rarity, 
but  the  writer  records  with  utmost  satisfaction  that  under  the  group 
of  fine  pines,  which  terminates  the  west  portion  of  the  woods  he  once 
found  the  nest,  containing  eleven  eggs,  of  one  of  these  noble  game 
birds,  and  several  times  thereafter  scared  the  wild  hen  from  her  nest 
by  venturing  too  close.  It  seemed  good  that  one  of  the  most  cherished 
boyhood  haunts  contained  such  a  treasure.  Of  squirrels,  the  little 
red  rover  survives  in  undiminished  numbers — its  larger  brethren,  the 
black  and  gray,  having  disappeared.  An  occasional  hare  is  found  here 
also. 

The  isolated  chestnut  tree,  once  so  abundant  in  this  vicinity,  is 
almost  a  memory.  It  is  said  that  Chestnut  street  itself  derived  its 
name  from  several  rows  of  great  chestnut  trees  that  once  flourished  on 
the  farm  of  S.  W.  Smith,  which  included  the  entire  north  side  of  the 
street  from  the  Grant  residence  east.  This  was  in  the  early  40's. 
The  writer  distinctly  remembers  that  a  large  tree  once  stood  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  Mullein  lot  on  Leonard  street.  The  old  chest- 
nut trees  on  the  Bradner  farm,  southeast  of  the  village,  were  cut 
down  long  ago,  and  among  others  the  writer  can  mention  several  on 
the  Rothe  farm,  and  half  a  dozen  or  more  on  the  Martin  King  place, 
once  a  part  of  the  Conrad  Welch  estate.  Then  there  were  other  isolated 
specimens  on  the  Sahrle  and  Vogel  farms,  which  belong  now  to  memory 
alone.  Almost  the  last  of  its  kind  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Dans- 
ville  is  the  old  tree  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Stadler  vineyard, 
east  of  Brewery  street.  Good  walnut  trees  are  also  becoming  exceed- 
ingly scarce.  Scattered  through  that  tract  of  land,  now  known  as 
Park  Avenue,  were  formerly  a  dozen  or  more  large  trees.  It  is  only 
within  a  comparatively  short  time  that  the  last  one  was  cut  down. 

^^    ^ 

Many  species  of  birds  prefer  to  be  near  the  habitations  of  man 
rather  than  in  the  woods  and  fields,  and  in  this  respect  Dansville  is 
well  favored.     And  certain  it  is  that  the  prevalence  of  shade  and  fruit 


132  DA NS VILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

trees  gives  the  village  an  unusual  sylvan  appearance.  The  birds  can- 
not help  but  look  at  it  as  an  ideal  place.  Baltimore  orioles,  yellow- 
warblers  and  cedar  birds  have  been  unusually  abundant  this  season 
(1902),  and  the  bluebirds  appeared  among  us  in  almost  old-time  num- 
bers. Blackbirds,  particularly  the  great  purple  grackles,  are  fairly 
represented,  but  the  main  body  prefer  the  flats,  a  few  miles  below  the 
village,  where  they  assemble  in  immense  flocks.  The  writer  recollects 
that  a  number  of  these  birds  have  rendezvoused  in  the  spruce  tree  in 
front  of  the  Pearson  residence  on  Elizabeth  street  since  he  was  a  small 
boy.  How  quickly  one  notices  the  visits  of  a  strange  flock  of  birds 
in  one's  locality !  When  those  large  yellow  birds,  the  evening  gros- 
beaks (natives  of  the  northwest,  seldom  venturing  east  of  the  Ohio 
river)  appeared  among  us  in  December,  1889,  how  eagerly  we  sought 
to  make  their  acquaintance  and  learn  their  identity.  It  was  hoped 
that  such  distinguished  bird  visitors  would  remain  with  us  perma- 
nently, but  with  the  advent  of  the  following  spring  they  disappeared. 
The  horned  lark  is  usually  a  common  visitor  in  our  wintry  fields,  but 
on  one  occasion  when  a  large  flock  settled  down  on  Main  street  in  the 
heart  of  the  business  center,  there  was  much  comment  and  speculation 
as  to  their  identity,  one  sportsman  in  particular  even  venturing  the 
assertion  that  it  must  be  a  species  of  upland  plover.  Such  wood 
species  like  the  black-billed  cuckoo,  catbird,  indigo  finch,  redstart, 
vireo  and  highhole  are  occasionally  found  within  the  confines  of  the 
village.  The  presence  of  a  ruffed  grouse  in  one's  garden  is  merely  an 
accident,  of  course,  but  the  writer  knows  of  two  such  instances,  one  in 
particular  where  the  bird  was  found  in  a  neighbor's  apple  tree  bud- 
ding. And  it  might  have  been  an  accident  also  that  prompted  a 
white-headed  eagle  to  come  sailing  up  the  valley  a  certain  day  in  July, 
1899,  flying  very  low  and  passing  directly  above  Elizabeth  street,  bound 
in  a  southern  direction.  The  bluejay,  once  so  abundant,  has  become 
almost  a  rare  bird  in  the  woods  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Dans- 
ville.  A  few  stragglers  are  occasionally  met  with  in  the  old  Dorr 
woods,  south  of  the  reservoir.  Of  late  years  the  Carolina  turtle  dove, 
a  lover  of  fields  and  roadsides,  has  also  become  a  rarity.  Among  the 
rarer  birds  that  inhabit  our  woodlands  one  can  easily  single  out  that 
semi-tropical  beauty,  the  scarlet  tanager.  In  twelve  years  the  writer 
has  come  across  but  a  single  specimen,  and  only  recently  he  was  grati- 
fied to  note  the  appearance  of  a  rose-breasted  grosbeak  in  a  cherished 
boyhood  haunt,  and  this  after  a  twenty  years'  lookout  for  the  birds. 
A  few  bobolinks  still  visit  our  meadows  season  after  season,  where  the 
meadow  lark  keeps  him  company.  That  gi-eat  woodland  artist,  the 
wood  thrush,  is  a  great  haunter  of  the  woods  round  about  the  Schub- 
mehl  quarry  on  East  Hill.  It  is  indeed  a  rare  privilege  to  take  up 
one's  stand  at  nightfall  in  this  locality  and  listen  to  the  glorious  chorus 
from  dozens  of  these  golden-throated  birds.  The  towhee  bunting,  a 
large,  beautifully-marked  bird  of  the  ground,  is  also  found  here. 


LATER  CONTRIBUriONS  133 

KILLING  OF  THE  LAST  WILD  DEER  IN  DANSVILLE 

By  Charles  C.  Sedgwick 

Along  in  the  roaring  forties,  about  1847,  a  farmer  from  Oalc  Hill 
came  into  George  Hyland's  store  leading  a  hound  pup  by  a  string. 
The  dog  was  pure  white,  with  long  yellov/  ears,  and  so  poor  that  he 
staggered.  The  farmer  told  Mr.  Hyland  some  hunter  had  lost  a  ' '  purp, ' ' 
anyway,  he  had  found  him  beside  the  road  in  a  fence  corner  about  a 
week  previous,  where  he  lay  shivering,  although  not  a  cold  spring 
morning,  and  so  sore  from  running  he  could  not  get  up;  he  had  car- 
ried him  home,  fed  him  all  he  had  tn  spare,  and  he  wanted  some  one 
else  to  feed  him  awhile;  Mr.  Hyland  could  advertise  him,  being  a  fur 
dealer.  Mr.  Hyland  kept  him  a  week,  then  offered  him  to  me,  say- 
ing they  were  about  out  of  food  at  his  honse,  and  he  wanted  to  save  a 
little  for  his  two  boys. 

I  kept  the  dog  until  fall,  and  the  first  time  we  went  out  he  caught 
a  fox  and  killed  it.  R.  Wheaton  said  I  did  not  need  a  gun,  the  dog 
could  catch  any  fox  in  the  county.  The  next  week  we  turned  out 
from  Hall  &  Ingersoll's  shop  about  twenty  guns  and  three  dogs.  Shot 
two  foxes  and  my  dog  caught  another  one.  We  then  decided  to  have 
a  grand  hunt  in  two  weeks.  A  fine  morning  saw  us  stepping  out 
for  the  hills.  Charles  Goodno  was  to  release  the  dogs  after  we  had 
gone  into  the  woods  fifteen  minutes.  Meanwhile  Lance  Hall  and  my- 
self had  come  to  the  upper  end  of  a  field  west  of   ^Ir.    Lemen's   house. 

We  stopped  at  a  low  fence  that  separated  us  from  the  forest  to  look 
at  some  beautiful  young  pines  at  the  foot  of  a  massive  tree  blown  over 
in  some  forest  gale,  and  I  said,  "What  a  beautiful  spot  for  a  deer  to 
lie  down  in,  nothing  could  find  him."  Hall  said,  "There  has  not 
been  a  deer  in  this  county  in  fifteen  years."  Just  then  my  dog  came 
running  up  very  fast,  cleared  the  fence,  gave  a  great  yell,  with  a 
triumphal  note  in  it,  and  sprang  into  the  thicket  just  as  a  deer 
bounded  out,  not  over  sixteen  feet  off,  the  dog  quickly  following 
jumping  at  his  throat, — his  deer,  the  deer  he  had  wearily  trailed  from 
Pennsylvania  in  the  early  spring,  both  now  in  full  strength,  they  went 
by  us  like  a  flash  of  light  down  to  the  wood  below,  and  the  trial  of 
speed  was  on  to  the  death.  Just  then  a  bullet  sung  over  our  heads. 
Lance  Hall  turned  to  me  and  asked,  "Did  you  ever  see  two  such 
fools?  A  deer  running  eighty  rods  in  sight  and  not  a  shot  fired! 
Why,  I  could  have  thrown  my  gun  and  knocked  him  down."  Run- 
ning down  the  field  we  came  to  Mr.  Watson,  who  said  he  was  so  sur- 
prised he  fired  in  the  opposite  direction  the  deer  was  going,  and 
asked  us  to  shoot  him.  We  were  joined  by  the  rest  of  the  party  and 
soon  came  down  to  the  Kanouse  tavern.  Paul  Kanouse  and  James 
McCurdy  told  us  a  deer  had  pa.ssed  with  a  white  hound  jumping  at 
his  throat.  Following  the  dogs  we  came  to  some  men  standing  about 
a  deep  hole  in  Canaseraga  Creek.  Dr.  Faulkner  was  trying  to  keep  the 
deer  from  pounding  the  dog  under  the  water.  Charles  Goodno  took 
Mr.  Wheaton's  rifle  and  shot  the  deer. 

Dr.  Faulkner  said  the  deer  and  the  dog  jumped  into  the  water, 
close  to  him,  the  deer  trying  to  drown  the  dog  by  jumping  on  him 
with  his  sharp  hoofs.  The  Doctor  stuck  his  pitchfork  into  the  animal, 
when    both  came  out  of  the  water,  ran  up  by  the  paper  mill,  down  by 


134  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

Fisk's  planing  mill,  part  way  over  the  canal  bridge,  jumped  into  the 
canal,  swam  a  few  rods,  then  ran  across  lots  to  the  water,  where  we 
found  him.  The  following  spring  Dr.  Faulkner  accompanied  by  Dr. 
Reynale,  made  me  an  early  call.  Faulkner's  man  had  shot  and 
shivered  my  dog's  shoulder  blades  while  it  was  playing  around  his 
sheep  in  the  early  morning.  Other  dogs  were  biting  and  killing  the 
sheep.  Faulkner  said  he  would  give  $25  to  save  him,  but  upon  ex- 
amination by  Dr.  Reynale  he  was  doomed  and  I  had  him  killed. 


E,ARLY  RECOLLECTIONS  >?  By  Mrs.  L.  Jtldrich  Collins 

Benjamin  Aldrich,  though  a  Quaker,  was  a  soldier  in  the  American 
Revolutionary  army  from  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  to 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  came  to  this  valley  in  1805.  Obed  Aldrich, 
his  son,  who  was  my  father,  then  a  lad  of  eleven  years,  accompanied 
him.  They  came  from  the  village  of  Auburn,  looking  for  land. 
There  were  many  Indians  here  at  that  time.  When  they  saw  my 
grandfather's  Quaker  costume  they  gathered  about  him  with  delight 
and  invited  him  to  their  homes.  They  called  upon  Mary  Jemison 
whose  history  they  were  familiar  with.  She  treated  the  young  boy 
to  bread  and  milk.  Mrs.  Jemison  had  her  milk  in  nice  brown  earthen 
pans,  set  upon  wooden  stools,  standing  in  water  in  a  nice  cool  spring 
house.  While  in  Dansville  they  stopped  with  Col.  Hammond  who 
was  residing  at  that  time  in  a  log  house  located  in  the  lower  part  of 
town.  My  grandfather  and  his  son  admired  the  beautiful  valley  with 
its  numerous  flowing  streams  and  fine  forests,  but  concluded  there 
were  too  many  huge  pine  stumps  to  be  disposed  of  ere  a  farm  could 
be  made  available.  He  finally  located  on  a  place  known  as  Aldrich 
Hill,  near  Palmyra. 

Obed  Aldrich,  though  so  young,  was  so  deeply  impressed  by  the 
scenic  beauty  of  this  place,  that  it  was  ever  after  his  standard  of  com- 
parison for  the  scenery  of  all  places  he  chanced  to  visit.  None  was 
ever  found  in  every  way  so  beautiful  to  him  as  that  at  the  head  of 
the  Genesee  Valley.  Though  still  a  boy  he  served  in  the  army  with 
an  older  brother  during  the  war  of  1812  as  fifer  and  drummer  boy. 
In  1850  he  returned  to  the  place  he  had  so  much  admired,  when  a 
child  and  purchased  the  mill  at  the  foot  of  Ossian  street,  known  as 
the  Aldrich  mill.  His  home  was  74  Main  street,  where  he  died  in 
1876. 

I  heard  Mrs.  Angell  say  that  when  a  girl  her  father,  Mr.  Kuhn,  was 
living  where  Conrad  Welch  used  to  live.  They  had  a  milk  house  in  the 
back  yard.  One  morning  she  went  there  for  milk  for  breakfast  and 
found  the  Canaseraga  had  risen  so  high,  the  milk  house  was  flooded 
with  water  and  all  the  milk  spoiled.  They  had  to  go  without  cream 
or  milk  for  their  coffee.  She  stated  that  the  Canaseraga  was  a  much 
larger  stream  at  that  time  than  it  is  now. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THe  Water  Works 


By  E.  Jt.  Sprague,  Superintendent 


T 


HE  DANSVILLE  WATER  WORKS,  comprising 
over  fifteen  miles  of  cast  iron  mains  from  four  to 
twelve  inches  in  size,  112  fire  hydrants  and  145  gates 
and  valves  forming  a  network  of  pipe  line  that  takes 
in  the  whole  village,  is  an  industry  of  which  every 
citizen  should  feel  proud.  Not  only  because  this 
system  is  owned  by  the  village,  but  also  from  the 
fact  that  it  is  one,  not  only  of  the  best  in  the  State 
but  one  of  the  best  in  the  whole  country,  for  several 
reasons;  namely,  it  is  a  gravity  system,  pure  and 
simple.  No  e.xpensive  pumping  station  to  be  main- 
tained to  keep  it  going;  the  quality  of  water,  con- 
sidered from  both  of  its  sources  of  supply;  the  sev- 
eral analyses  of  which  show  that  no  purer  or  better 
water  flows;  its  effectiveness  in  cases  of  fire;  the 
little  trouble  and  e.xpense  it  has  been  so  far  for  leaks  and  breaks  in  its 
mains,  as  compared  with  reports  of  systems  in  other  villages;  and  the 
source  of  revenue  it  will  eventually  be  to  the  taxpayers — these  are 
interesting  and  pleasing  facts  to  contemplate. 

The  completion  of  the  extension  line  up  Little  Mill  Creek  in  the  fall 
of  1900  perfected  the  system,  as  it  practically  gave  two  separate  sources 
of  supply  that  can  be  used  in  connection  with  each  other,  or  each  one 
separate,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  short  line  of  main  pipe  on  upper 
Main  street  (through  which  section  of  pipe  both  lines  are  obliged  to 
flow)  the  sources  of  supply  are  independent,  one  from  the  other.  In  case 
of  a  break  in  the  main,  unless  it  be  in  this  particular  part  of  the  line, 
the  water  supply  would  not  have  to  be  shut  off  and  but  little  incon- 
venience would  be  caused  consumers  in  order  to  make  repairs.  This 
advantage  in  cases  of  fire  is  of  vast  importance  compared  to  other 
places  having  only  a  single  source  to  depend  on,  which  if  cut  off, 
would  place  the  inhabitants  in  a  bad  way  in  case  of  fire. 

When  the  question  of  water  works  first  came  up  to  be  seriously  con- 
sidered much  feeling  was  wrought  up  and  some  hard  fights  resulted 
from  the  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  proper  plan  to  be  adopted, 
both  as  to  the  source  of  supply  and  location  of  reservoir,  if  such  action 
were  required.  The  plan  as  adopted  and  the  system  as  it  now  is  with 
the  addition  of  the  Little  Mill  creek  supply  in  case  of  need,  although 
costing  possibly  more  than  to  have  taken  the  creek  plan  alone  at  the 
start  warrants  the  additional  cost  and  justifies  the  wisdom  of  those 
who  fought  for  it. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  on  June  17,  1896,  the  trus- 
tees resolved  themselves  into  a  Board  of  Water  Commissioners,  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  chapter  181  of  the  Laws  of  1875, 
entitled  an  act  to  authorize  the  villages  of  the  state  New  York  to 
furnish  pure  and  wholesome  water  to  its  inhabitants. 


135 


136  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

The  board  as  organized  comprised  Charles  A.  Snyder,  president ; 
Frank  J.  Blum,  secretary;  William  Cogswell,  treasurer;  Edward 
Bacon  and  John  F.  Michel.  On  August  26,  1896,  the  resolution  was 
passed  by  the  said  board  for  the  first  issue  of  water  bonds.  This  issue 
was  for  the  sum  of  $60,000,  each  bond  of  the  face  value  of  $1,000  bear- 
ing 4>^  per  cent  interest,  such  interest  payable  semi-annually,  the 
principal  payable  in  $3,000  payments,  the  first  series  to  become  due 
five  years  from  date  of  issue,  which  was  September  1,  1896.  The  en- 
tire issue  was  sold  through  the  City  Bank  of  Buffalo  at  3  per  cent 
premium,  so  that  at  time  of  delivery  the  premium  and  accrued  interest 
brought  $61,903.56. 

It  being  found  that  the  estimate  of  Engineer  Witmar  of  $60,000  to 
cover  cost  of  the  plant  was  not  going  to  be  sufficient,  the  board  on 
January  4,  1897,  made  an  additional  issue  of  bonds  in  the  sum  of  $15, - 
000  of  the  same  form  and  size  as  the  first  issue,  except  that  the  first 
bond  was  numbered  61  and  did  not  mature  until  September  1,  1921, 
or  until  the  original  issue  was  all  paid  up.  These  bonds  were  also 
sold  through  the  City  Bank  of  Buffalo,  and  being  long-term  bonds 
brought  7  per  cent  preminm  which  with  accrued  interest  netted  a 
total  of  $16,306.87;  the  entire  total  from  the  sale  of  both  issues  of 
bonds  being  $78,210.43. 

On  the  4th  day  of  September,  1896,  the  contract  for  the  building  of 
the  water  works  system  was  awarded  to  W.  B.  Wilson  of  Buffalo,  for 
the  sum  of  $53,000  including  pipe.  J.  F.  Witmar  being  engineer  in 
charge;  H.  K.  Bishop,  also  of  Buffalo,  assistant  engineer.  The  spec- 
ifications in  contract  as  awarded  called  for  1,288  tons  of  cut  iron  pipe, 
112  eddy  fire  hydrants,  141  gate  valves  and  boxes,  masonry  reservoir 
of  4,000,000  gallons  capacity,  receiving  basin,  settling  tank,  etc.  The 
pipe  consisted  of 

9,576  feet  cast  iron  size 12  in. 

828     "       "       "        "    10   " 

2,100     "       "       "        "   8   " 

48,'684     "  "       "        "    6   " 

12,756     "  "       "        "    4   " 

73,944  feet  cast  iron  size.   Total  about  14  miles. 

The  reservoir  as  originally  intended,  and  as  the  specifications  called 
for  at  the  time  the  contract  was  let,  was  to  be  a  rectangular  basin 
with  concrete  bottom  and  masonry  sides,  of  approximately  the  follow- 
ing dimensions:  Length,  300  feet';  width,  150  feet;  depth,  8  feet;  ca- 
pacity, 4,000,000  gallons;  located  on  what  was  then  the  John  Campbell 
farm  at  an  elevation  of  over  200  feet  above  the  village.  The  plan  as 
to  pipe  hydrants  and  gates  was  practically  carried  out,  but  the  loca- 
tion of  reservoir  was  changed  as  well  as  the  dimensions  of  the  same, 
it  being  moved  to  the  south  and  put  partly  on  the  lands  of  Martin 
King,  so  that  the  reservoir  when  completed  measured  225  feet  long, 
200  feet  wide,  8  feet  in  depth  for  25  feet  from  wall  all  around.  The 
center  or  inner  basin  being  about  13  feet  deep  and  the  estimated  ca- 
pacity of  the  reservoir  complete  being  3,158,868  gallons. 

The  supply  of  water  to  maintain  this  reservoir  is  furnished  from 
springs  flowing  from  the  hills  above  the  principal    one,  so   considered, 


138  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

is  the  Zigenfuss  spring  which  at  the  time  of  the  building  of  the  reser- 
voir was  owned  or  controlled  by  Dr.  Jackson  of  the  Sanatorium  and 
was  valued  by  him  at  $2,000.  There  are  a  number  of  other  springs 
that  contribute  to  make  up  the  supply  and  which  at  the  start  flowed 
in  their  natural  channels,  but  which  have  since  been  piped  both  by 
iron  and  vitrified  pipe  through  sections  that  were  thought  might  pol- 
lute the  water,  until  now  there  is  about  3,OoO  feet  of  pipe  line  above 
the  reservoir.  This  supply  of  pure  spring  water  flows  into  a  small 
receiving  basin,  from  there  through  a  brick  trough  into  the  settling 
tank  10  feet  in  diameter  by  12  feet  in  depth,  thence  through  a  12-inch 
cast  iron  pipe  into  the  reservoir  at  the  northeast  corner,  the  overflow 
being  opposite  at  the  northwest  corner.  Work  was  commenced  on 
the  pipe  line  shortly  after  the  contract  was  awarded  September  4, 
1896,  and  the  system  was  accepted  from  the  contractor  by  the  board 
May  3,  1897. 

May  1,  1897,  the  Board  of  Water  Commissioners  according  to  the 
law  then  in  force  made  a  report  to  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Living- 
ston county,  which  report  was  published  in  all  three  of  the  village 
papers,  showing  the  expenditures  of  said  board  up  to  that  time  in  the 
construction  of  the  system  to  be  as  follows: 

To  credit  of  board   from  sale  of  bonds, $78,210.43 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

For  iron  pipe 21,692.86 

For  laying  pipe 14,026.08 

For  hydrants,  valves  and  boxes 4,118.08 

Building  reservoir  receiving  basin,  etc., 26,262.79 

For   engineering 3,300.00 

For  legal  expenses 554. 25 

For  miscellaneous  expenses 623.18 

For  tapping  machine  and  fixtures 84.50 

For  water  meters 394.05 

Interest  on  bonds  Sept.  1,  1896  to  March  1,  1897.  .    1,687.50 

Total $72,698.29 

On  deposit  in  banks 5,512.14 


$78,210.43 
E.  B.  Cridler  was  appointed  the  first  superintendent  of  the  Board  of 
Water  Commissioners  November  9,  1896.  The  original  board  con- 
tinued to  act  until  March,  1898,  when  Frank  J.  Blum  was  retired  and 
C.  W.  Denton  took  his  place  as  secretary  of  the  board.  The  report 
as  published  March  1,  1898,  by  E.  B.  Cridler,  superintendent,  showed 
all  receipts  and  disbursements  from  May  1,  1897,  both  in  the  construc- 
tion account  and  in  the  maintenance  fund  to  be  as  follows: 

CONSTRUCTION    ACCOUNT. 

Balance  to  credit  of  Board  May  1,  1897 $5,212.14 

Jan.  20,  1898,  Rec'd  from  village  treasurer  to  re- 
place money  taken  from  construction  account 
to  pay  interest  on  bonds  March  1,  1897 1,687.50 

$7,199.64 


THE   U'A  /'BR   WORKS  13') 


niSBURSEMEN'I'S. 

Land  and  land  damages ')72.86 

Iron  pipe  and  specials 1, ')()'). 2S 

Completion  of  reservoir  and  pipe  laying 1,350.25 

Engineering 119.05 

Legal  expenses 387.33 

Labor  at  springs  and  making  loads  at  reservoir.  .  .  41().90 

Printing  annual   report 60.00 

Miscellaneous  and  other  expense 452.10 


$5,661.77 
Balance  on  deposit  in  M.  and  T.  Nat.   Bank 1,537.87 

Total $7,199.64 

MAINTENANCK    FUND. 

From  water  rents $2,588. 71 

From  village  treasurer 1,687.50 

From  tapping  fees 940. 0() 

From  other  sources 415. S8 


Total   fund $5,632.15 

DTSHURSEMENTS. 

For  interest  on  bonds  Sept.  1,  1897 $l,()S7.So 

For  tapping  mains 1,017.91 

For  superintendent's  salary  ten  months 500.00 

For  metres 368.50 

For  iron  pipe  and  specials 69.28 

Miscellaneous 137.53 


Total $3,780.72 

On  deposit  at  M.  and  T.  Nat.  Bank 1,851.43 


Total $5,632.15 

The  board  of  the  year  1898  consisted  of  C.  A.  Snyder,  president; 
C.  \\.  Denton,  secretary;  H.  J.  Miller,  treasurer;  Edward  Bacon  and 
John  F.  Michael  members;  E.  B.Cridler,  superintendent  for  one  year. 
The  finishing  up  of  the  original  system  was  practically  done  during 
the  term  of  this  board.     Their  report  published  March  1,  1899,  follows: 

CONSTRUCTION    ,\CC0UNT. 

Balance  on  deposit  March  1,  1898 $1,537,87 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

C.  H.  Rowe,  receiver  Dansville  Loan  Asso.  for  right 

of  way  and  land  on  Campbell  farm 1,350.00 

B.  G.  Foss,  legal  services  and  disbursements 163.95 

John  Dick,  filling  holes 7.50 


Total    $1,521.45 

On  deposit  in  bank 16.42 


$1,537.87 


140  DA NS VILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

MAINTENANCE    FUND 

Balance  on  deposit  March  1,  1898 1,851.43 

Water  rents 3,364.39 

Tapping  fees 328.27 

Village  treasurer 1,500.00 

Other  sources 3.50 


Total $7,047. 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

For  interest  on  bonds 3,375.00 

For  Supt's  salary 600.00 

For  tapping  fees 316.49 

For  metres 264.15 

For  annual  report  and  examining  books 60.00 

For  extending  and  repairing  pipe  line 77.23 

For  miscellaneous  expenses 203.42 


Total   Disbursements 4,896.29 

Bal.  on  deposit   M.  &  F.  Nat.  Bank 2,151.30 


$7,047. 


At  the  Charter  Election  in  the  spring  of  1899,  the  personnel  of  tl 
Board  changed,  C.  W.  Denton  being  the  only  old  member  retaine 
The  new  board  consisted  of  J.  B.  Morey,  Jr.,  president;  C.  W.  De 
ton,  secretary;  H.  J.  Miller,  treasurer;  Fred  R.  Driesbach  ai 
David  E.  Rau  members.  E.  B.  Cridler  was  retired  as  superintender 
and  M.  J-  McNeil  appointed  for  one  year.  During  the  administr 
tion  of  this  Board  the  fact  became  apparent  that  owing  to  continui 
dry  seasons  the  water  supply  was  not  sufficient  to  meet  all  deman 
for  water,  and  still  keep  the  reservoir  full  and  overflowing,  ai 
measure  were  begun  which  in  the  following  year  matured  into  i. 
extension  of  the  pipe  line  to  a  new  source  of  supply  from  Little  M 
creek.  This  board  continued  in  power  until  the  charter  election 
the  spring  of  1900,  when  the  board  again  became  Democratic.  1 
report  of  the  retiring  board  published  March  1,  1900  is  as  follows: 

MAINTENANCE  FUND. 

March  1,  1899. 

On  Deposit  in  Merchants  «&  Farmers'  Bank $2,151. 

Bal.  in  construction  acct.   transferred 16. 

From  water  rents 3,863. 

From  village  treasurer 1,200. 

From  tapping  fees 407. 

Prom  other  sources IS. 


Total   Receipts $7,654. 


rilE  WATER  WORKS  141 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

For  interest  on  bonds $3,375,00 

For  Supt.  salary 400.00 

For  tapping  fees 431.00 

For  land  of  Edward  Zeigenfuss ^ 300.00 

For  E.  B.  Cridler  salary  Feb.  1899 " 50.00 

For  meters  and    meter  repairs 134.10 

Labor  and  material  for  repairs  at  springs,  reservoir  and   .  .  . 

Its  connections 452.78 

For  other  expenses 355. 49 

$5,498.37 

Total  disbursements $5,498.37 

Cash  in  Citizens  bank 2  156. 11 


$7,654.48 


The  Board  of  Water  Commissioners  for  the  year  1900,  were  or- 
ganized Feb.  19,  and  its  members  were:  Oscar  Woodruff,  president;  J. 
E.Crisfield,  secretary;  Herman  Hoffman,  treasurer;  Fred  R.  Driesbach, 
David  E.  Rau;  E.  A.  Sprague,  superintendent.  On  April  25  the 
board  took  up  the  question  of  the  extension  of  the  water  system,  and 
F.  W.  Dalrymple  then  city  engineer  of  Hornellsville,  was  employed 
as  engineer  in  charge.  On  May  23  the  contract  for  labor  and  ma- 
terial was  awarded  to  F.  G.  Kerivan  &  Co.,  of  Frankfort,  N.  Y.,  for 
the  sum  of  $5,462,  their  bid  being  the  lowest  of  six  submitted.  On 
June  13  the  question  of  the  issue  of  bonds  for  payment  of  this  ex- 
tension line  was  acted  upon  and  decided  that  the  issue  of  $9,000  be 
made  as  follows:  Each  bond  to  have  the  face  value  of  $500,  bearing 
^Yz  per  cent  interest,  payable  semi-annually.  The  first  bond  to  be- 
come due  five  years  from  date  of  issue,  one  bond  becoming  due  each 
succeeding  year  until  the  entire  issue  was  paid  up.  These  bonds  were 
sold  to  George  C.  White  of  New  York,  and  brought  a  premium 
of  194.14.  Making  a  total  of  the  board  in  this  fund  of  $9,194.14. 
The  contract  as  per  specification, called  for  the  furnishing  and  laying  of 
3,500  feet  of  ten-inch  cast  iron  pipe  (105  tons)  from  the  end  of  the 
pipe  line  system  in  front  of  the  old  California  House  on  upper  Main 
street  up  the  gorge  of  Little  Mill  creek,  3,500  feet;  and  there  to  con- 
nect with  a  concrete  dam;  (this  elevation  was  considered  by  the 
engineer  of  sufficient  height  above  the  reservoir  to  force  the  flow  of 
water  from  said  dam  back  into  the  resevoir,)  also  to  furnish  and  lay 
1,000  feet  (20  tons)  of  four-inch  cast  pipe  and  1,000  feet  of  vitrified 
pipe  on  the  original  line  of  supply  from  the  springs  above  the  reservoir; 
also  to  construct  on  the  north  end  of  dam  in  the  Mill  creek  gorge,  a 
brick  house  into  which  the  water  from  said  dam  should  flow  before 
entering  the  pipe.  In  this  house  are  constructed  two  concrete  tanks. 
The  water  flowing  into  the  first  or  upper  tank  over  a  two-foot  weir 
into  second  or  lower  tank.  This  first  weir  measures  the  entire  amount  of 
water  flowing  in.  The  pipe  line  feeds  from  the  lower  tank  on  the 
side  of  the  second  or  lower  tank  into  an  overflow  containing  another 


142  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

two-foot  weir,  so  that  all  is  required  to  know  how  much  water  the 
pipe  is  drawing  from  the  stream  is  to  take  the  readings  of  the  two 
weirs  and  subtract.  The  work  was-  begun  the  first  of  July  and  on 
Aug.  2,  the  board  formally  accepted  the  same  as  satisfactorily  com- 
pleted. The  test  of  two  lines  used  in  connection  with  each  other 
more  than  met  the  expectations  of  the  board. 

The  annual  report  of  this  board  of  March  1,  1901,  was  as  follows: 

EXTENSION  FUND. 

From  sale  of  bonds $9,194.14 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

F.  G.  Kerivan  &  Co.  contractors $5,696.19 

F.  W.  Dairy mple  engineer 336.06 

Valentine  Fogel  right  of  way 150.00 

Commissioners  in  Angell  suit 769.71 

Expert   engineers          "        "      276.00 

Searchers  and  abstract   "     "       95.75 

Attorney  fees                 "       "    200.00 

Witness  fees                  "       "   191.84 

Other  expenses 163.64 

Total $7,879.19 

Deposited  to  credit  of  board  M  &  F  bank 1,314.95 

$9,194.14 

MAINTENANCE  FUND. 

Rec'd   from  board  W.  C.  1899 $2,156.11 

Rec'd   from  water  rents 4,525.60 

Rec'd   from  village  treasurer 500.00 

Rec'd  from  tapping  fees 370.73 

Rec'd   from  other  sources 24.62 

Total   receipts $7,577.06 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

For  interest  on  bonds $3,375.00 

For  interest  on  extension  on  bonds 157.50 

For  Supt.  salary 400. 00 

For  tapping  mains 368. 60 

For  moving  hydrants  on  Main  street 45.90 

For  supplies 57. 75 

For  printing 48. 59 

For  examination  of  books  for  1900 30.00 

For  meters  and  meter  repairs 121.45 

For  cleaning  and  repairing  reservoir  receving 

basin  settling  tank  and  its  surroundings 71.85 

For  office  rent 50.00 

For  treasurer's  bond  and  other  expenses 25.54 

Total $4,752.18 

For  cash  deposit  in  M  &  F  bank 2,824.88 

$7,577.06 


THR   WATER   WORKS  143 

The  charter  election  of  February,  1901,  resulted  in  election  of  the  fol- 
lowing- Board:  Oscar  Woodruff,  president;  James  E.  Crisfield,  Herman 
Hoffman,  Henry  Fedder  and  George  P.  Wheaton,  members.  J.  E. 
Crisfield  was  elected  secretary  and  Herman  Hoffman  treasurer.  E. 
A.  Sprague  was  re-appointed  superintendent.  Nothing  of  any 
importance  occurred  to  the  system  during  the  year.  The  supply 
of  water  in  the  springs  kept  up  during  the  summer  months  so 
well  that  water  was  only  let  into  the  line  from  Little  Mill  creek  once 
during  that  time  and  then  only  for  a  period  of  ten  hours.  In  the  fall 
during  the  cleaning  and  repairing  of  the  reservoir  and  its  surround- 
ings water  was  used  from  the  creek  for  a  short  time  and  then  shut  off 
for  the  winter.     The  report  as  published  March  4,  1902,  is  as   follows: 

RECEIPTS. 

MAINTEN.\NCE    FUND. 

March  1,  1901,  Balance  on  deposit  in  M.  and  F.  Bank.2,.S24.88 

Rec'd  from  water  rents 4,977.50 

"         •'     tapping  fees 21)4.56 

"         "     fines  and  old  accounts 11.00 

"     metre  repairs 16.65 

"     village    treasurer SUO.OO 


Total $8,534.59 

RECEIPT    EXTENSION    FUND. 

March  1,  1901,  Balance  on  deposit  in  :\I.  and  F.  Bank  $1,314.95 

MAINTENANCE  FUND.  '  '^ 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Interest  on  regular  bonds 3,375.1)0 

"    extension  bonds 315.00 

Supt's  salary 50().00 

Tapping  mains 214.74 

Supplies 74.82 

Printing 44.50 

Examination  of  books 15.00 

Metres  and  metre  repairs 90. 74 

Repair  work  on  streets,  reservoir  and  its  surroundings      92.32 

Office  rent 50.00 

Treasurer  bond 15. 50 

Office  supplies 25.60 

Engineering  work    30.00 

Attorney  fees  and  expenses  in  Nancy  E.  Angell  water 

suit. 581.43 

C.  P.  Willey  water  rights  and  damages 185.00 

Rebates 13.60 


Total $5,623.25 

March  4,  1902,  Balance  on  deposit  in  M.  and  F.  Bank  2,911.3^ 

$8,534.59 


144  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

EXTENSION  FUND. 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

B.  G.  Foss,  attorney  for  board 50.00 

Altmeyer  estate  water  rights  and  damages 75.00 

Stephen  Rauber     "  "  "  75.00 

Repair  work  on  lines 33.25 

Nancy  E.  Angell  award 1,000.00 

Total $1,233.2 

March  4,  1902,  Balance  on  deposit  in  M.  and  F.  Bank  81.7 


,314.? 


The  charter  election  of  February,  1902,  retained  Oscar  Woodruff  i 
president;  J.  E.  Crisfield  and  Herman  Hoffman  the  retiring  member; 
so  the  Board  remains  the  same  now  as  last  year  with  the  same  officei 
in  power.  James  E.  Crisfield  and  Herman  Hoffman  were  elected  fc 
two  years.  The  term  of  President  Woodruff,  Henry  'Fedder  an 
George  P.  Wheaton  members,  expire  March  1,   1903. 

The  first  tap  for  the  use  of  water  was  made  for  the  Blum  Shoe  Co 
November  17,  ]  896,  The  total  number  of  taps  at  the  present  tim 
is  570.  About  490  of  these  being  in  use.  The  service  is  classed  i 
metrs,  domestic  and  lawn.  The  mininum  rate  for  metre  service  is  ^ 
tap  $12.00,  ^  tap  $18.00,  one  inch  tap  $$25.00,  domestic  or  lawi 
(separate)  $5.00  each,  in  connection  $8.00  for  both.  Closets,  bath  tubi 
wash  bowls  and  all  extra  service  in  proportion. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  difference  in  the  sums  voted  by  the  ta} 
payers  as  the  reports  show,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  system  sine 
1896  and  the  present  time.  And  it  is  only  from  the  fact  that  we  hav 
outstanding  claims  for  water  rights  and  damages  that  have  not  bee 
satisfied,  that  they  are  called  on  to  vote  any  appropriation  for  th 
maintenance  of  the  system  outside  of  the  payment  of  the  bonds  then 
selves.  And  this  is  only  a  question  of  a  short  time  as  the  excei 
revenue,  if  such  revenue  is  kept  as  it  should  be,  will  go  a  long  waj 
toward  providing  for  that,  and  the  inhabitants  in  the  near  future  wi 
wonder  how  any  village  could  exist  without  owning  its  own  system  c 
water  works. 


CHAPTER   XV r I 


OtHer  DetacHed   Facts 


OUR  last  week's  dispatch  from  Jericho  states  that  the  water 
in  the  Dead  Sea  is  salty.— Dansville  Union  of  May  12,  1877, 
published  by  Hedges  &  Johnson,  the  present  Judge  Job  E. 
Hedges  of  New  York  city,  the  senior  partner.  "Coming 
events  (and  men)  cast  their  shadows  before." 

The  Dansville  soldiers'  monument,  illustrated  on  page  SO, 
was  dedicated  September  12.1900.  Officers  of  the  day: 
Oscar  Woodruff,  president;  Birdsall  Kennedy,  chief  mar- 
shal. A  number  of  prominent  men  from  other  parts  of  the 
state  were  present  as  invited  guests.  The  oration  was  by 
Gen.  A.  D.  Shaw  of  Watertown,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  of  the  United  States,  and  there  were  addresses  by  President 
Woodruff,  Col.  N.  P.  Pond  of  Rochester,  Judge  Job  E.  Hedges  of 
New  York,  Dr.  J.  H.  Jackson,  Commander  J.  H.  Baker  and  Col.  Wil- 
liam Kramer.  G.  F.  Spencer  had  charge  of  the  music,  which  included 
Kipling's  "Recessional,"  sung  by  M.  Roy  Faville,  and  the  singing  of 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner"  and  "America"  by  the  school  children. 
In  the  fine  parade  were  the  well-drilled  school  children  and  represen- 
tatives of  five  G.  A.  R.  posts. 

The  school  exhibition  of  Dansville  academy,  March  10,  1837  (see 
program,  page  44),  was  held  in  the  Presbyterian  church  on  Main  street 
which  was  burned  in  the  fire  of  1854.  The  house  was  so  crowded  that 
something  gave  way  with  a  great  crash  in  the  cellar  and  there  came 
near  being  a  fatal  jam,  so  excited  were  the  people.  Happily,  some 
level-headed  men  kept  the  audience  seated  while  an  investigation  was 
being  made.  The  crash  was  caused  by  the  cracking  of  a  big  stone  in 
the  foundation.  This  did  not  endanger  the  building,  and  the  exer- 
cises went  on  without  further  interruption. 

R.  F.  Hicks  had  a  select  school  in  the  Smith  block  before  he  taught 
in  the  brick  schoolhouse — 30  pupils,  18  boys  and  12  girls,  for  which  he 
received  a  salary  of  $1,000. 

Miss  Jennie  DeWolfe  of  Bath,  in  the  fifties,  taught  a  select  school 
of  young  ladies  on  the  second  floor  of  the  block  now  occupied  by  Jo- 
hantgen  Brothers. 

On  the  16th  of  April,  1861,  these  members  of  Co.  L,S9th  militia,  ten- 
dered that  company  to  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  state  for  imme- 
diate service,  and  in  case  this  tender  was  not  accepted,  they  individu- 
ally tendered  their  services  as  volunteers  under  provision  of  the  three 
million  act,  viz:  Carl  Stephan,  Geo.  Hasler,  Geo.  Hyland,  Jr.,  Ralph 
T.  Wood,  H.  R.  Curtis,  M.  J.  Bunnell,  D.  D.  Stilwell,  G.  P.  Ehle,  A. 
J.  Hartman,  A.  Kenney,  DeForest  P.  Lozier,  M.  Harlo  Fitch,  G.  B. 
Stanley,  Miles  O.  Wright,  Wm.  H.  Drehmer,  Ezra  Marion.  The  ser- 
vices of  the  company  could  not  be  accepted,  and  these  men  volunteered 
and  became  a  part  of  Co.  B  13th  N.  Y.  volunteers.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  paper  is  dated  on  the  very  day  the  act  was   passed   authoriz- 


145 


146  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

ing  the  employing  and  equipping  of  a  volunteer  militia  and  to  provide 
for  the  public  defence.  The  original  local  document  is  in  possession 
of  Maj.  Mark  J.  Bunnell.  This  Co.  L.  was  popularly  known  as  the 
Old  Canaseragas. 

In  1862,  when  silver  had  almost  entirely  disappeared,  our  banker, 
and  many  of  our  merchants  issued  "shinplasters"  or  paper  currency 
in  denominations  of  Sc  to  50c,  agreeing  to  pay  the  bearer  of  same  in 
current  bank  notes  in  sums  of  one  dollar  or  upwards.  Many  of  these 
shinplasters  were  printed  at  the  office  of  the  Dansville  Advertisers 
They  circulated  quite  freely  and  were  a  great  convenience.  With  the 
resumption  of  specie  circulation  these  shinplasters  disappeared. 

There  was  a  memorial  service  to  Dr.  James  Caleb  Jackson,  founder 
of  the  Jackson  Sanatorium,  October  1,  1895,  the  37th  anniversary  of 
founder's  day.  A.  O.  Bunnell  presided  and  there  were  addresses  by 
Rev.  John  F.  Clymer,  D.  D.,  Dr.  F.  M.  Ferine,  Oscar  Woodruff,  Rev. 
George  K.  Ward,  F.  W.  Noyes,  Rev.  R.  M.  Stratton,  D.  D.,  and  Mrs. 
Margaret  Bottome ;  singing  by  Mrs.  Alice  Everitt  Sprague  and  G.  F. 
Spencer. 

In  1803,  Peter  Ferine,  having  received  the  heart  rending  news  of 
his  nephew  being  drowned  near  Buffalo  in  Lake  Erie,  set  out  on  a 
journey  to  recover  his  body,  armed  with  a  document  testifying  to 
his  character  as  a  "wholesome  citizen."  This  was  signed  by  Isaac 
Van  Deventer,  Amh.  Hammond,  Es.,  Rich'd  Porter,  James  Porter, 
Frederick  Covert,  Thomas  Macklem,  Geo.  W.  Taylor  and  Sam'l  Mc- 
Crea.     Dr.  F.  M.  Ferine  has  the  original  document. 

"The  undersigned,  feeling  the  necessity  of  a  religious  organization 
free  from  the  trammels  of  sect  or  dogma,  while  we  seek  after  all 
truths  in  science,  philosophy  and  religion,  etc.,"  filed  in  office  of  the 
county  clerk  of  Livingston  county  on  Dec.  16,  1868,  articles  of  associ- 
ation of  the  first  Dansville  society  of  Spiritualists,  viz. :  John  Littles, 
A.  E.  Tilden,  J.  O.  Kelly,  Deborah  Kelly,  E.  S.  Littles,  A.  L.  Bailey, 
Anna  Bailey,  Lucy  Ramsden,  Jane  B.  Godfrey,  Mary  A.  Noble,  A. 
W.  Rowland,  Sarah  Rowland.  Annual  meeting  1st  Tuesday  of  Octo- 
ber each  year. 

April  16,  1846,  Lockwood  L.  Doty  wrote  to  Dr.  A.  L.  Gilbert  from 
the  Dansville  postofifice  that  he  had  just  finished  a  letter  to  the  post- 
office  department  that  they  had  moved  the  postofifice  into  Ossian  street, 
first  door  below  Kingsley's  grocery  and  second  door  below  George 
Wood's  tin  shop.  Cady  &  Payne  occupied  the  sides  fitted  with  shelves 
as  a  grocery.  Young  Doty  said  he  might  stay  with  Mr.  Brown  until 
May  1,  and  H.  C.  Sedgwick  was  to  enter  the  service  as  his  successor. 
Charles  Shepard  had  commenced  on  the  walls  of  his  block,  R.  S. 
Faulkner  had  raised  the  frame  for  his  store,  George  Hyland  had  com- 
menced his  cellar  in  front  of  the  American  hotel  (the  hotel  stood  back 
some  distance  from  the  street),  Jonathan  L.  Sleeper  had  purchased  the 
George  Wood  shop.  At  the  town  election  the  wliigs  elected  only  one 
officer,  H.  Howe  as  constable.  Sidney  Sweet  was  elected  supervisor 
of  North  Dansville,  Roswell  Wilcox  (whig)  of  West  Sparta,  Morgan 
Hammond  of  Sparta.     N.  Dansville  license.  West  Sparta  no  license. 

A  number  of  enthusiastic  young  men  and  women  of  Dansville  and 
vicinity  started  in  1841  for  the  far  west  to  work  as  missionaries  among 
the  Indians,  stirred   thereto   by   the   representations   of   a   Rev.  Mr. 


OTHER  DETACHED  FACTS  147 

Himter.  They  stopped  at  the  Quincy  (111.)  Institute  for  further 
instructions  in  the  mission.  They  found  everything  so  different  from 
what  had  been  represented  that  most  if  not  all  of  them  returned. 

At  a  Bachelors'  ball  at  the  American  hotel,  Dansville,  Tuesday 
evening,  Feb.  20,  1849,  the  managers  were  John  A.  VanDerlip,  A.  H. 
Bradner,  Isaac  L.  Endress,  Matthew  McCartney,  J.  W.  Brown,  Alex. 
Thompson,  S.  S.  Hammond,  Geo.  P.  Reynale,  Endress  Hartman,  D. 
C.  Bryant,  Luther  Grant,  John  McCurdy;  the  room  managers  were 
Wm.  Hollister,  C.  W.  Eastwood,  Wm.  G.  Thomson,  Barna  J.  Chapin; 
music  by  Adams's  band. 

^  H.  A.  Sprague  and  J.  VanCampen  Stout  carried  chain  for  Major 
VanCampen  to  survey  the  original  village  lines  of  Dansville.  Mr. 
Sprague  was  working  for  M.  H.  Brown  who  sent  him  out  two  days  as 
his  contribution  toward  the  expense  of  the  survey. 

May  11,  1835,  a  subscription  paper  was  circulated  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  school  building,  afterwards  known  as  the  Dansville  academy. 
Samuel  Wilson  and  D.  D.  McNair  were  the  last  survivors  of  the  forty- 
three  signers,  and  they  are  dead. 

No  less  than  twenty-five  transfers  of  the  Dansville  paper  mill  prop- 
erty took  place  between  Dec.  13,  1819,  when  it  was  bought  at  auction 
by  James  McNair,  and  Nov.  13,  1900,  when  it  was  bought  at  auction 
by  James  McNairn,  the  present  owner,  a  somewhat  singular  coinci- 
dence in  names  and  dates.  Among  the  other  owners  were  the  Brad- 
leys  and  Sills,  L.  C.  Woodruff,  the  Union  and  Advertiser  Company  of 
Rochester  and  Reuben  Whiteman.  It  is  now  utilized  for  the  manu- 
facture of  tissue  paper  of  a  high  grade. 

A  notable  loan  art  exhibition  was  held  in  Dansville  in  February, 
1879.      More  than  seven  hundred  articles  were  catalogued. 

The  ''old  boys"  of  Dansville  made  frequent  exhibitions  of  humor  in 
various  ways.  On  Oct.  17,  1878,  a  formal  petition  was  presented  to 
Matthew  McCartney  praying  him  to  at  once  don  his  ''all  powerful 
linen  breeches  in  order  that  the  parched  up  earth,  low  streams,  dug 
wells  and  cisterns  may  be  replenished  with  a  bountiful  supply  of  water. ' ' 
This  was  signed  by  the  leading  professional  and  business  men  of  Main 
street.  It  was  a  current  belief  that  it  always  rained  when  Mr.  Mc- 
Cartney wore  linen  breeches.  Endorsement  on  the  petition:  "Rain 
commenced  falling  same  night." 

Sir  John  Lowther  Johnstone  of  Wester-Hall,  in  the  county  of  Dum- 
fries, in  that  part  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, which  is  called  Scotland,  by  his  substitute  Samuel  S.  Haight, 
appears  as  first  part  in  a  contract  with  William  Ferine  of  Dansville  as 
the  second  part,  in  a  land  contract,  dated  Jan.  8,  1811. 

Dr.  F.  M.  Ferine  has  a  receipt  for  money  received  of  his  father 
William  Ferine,  signed  by  Nancy  Faulkner,  widow  of  Capt.  Danl. 
Faulkner,  June  8,  1804. 

At  the  time  of  the  annexation  of  the  present  town  of  North  Dans- 
ville to  Sparta,  Livingston  county,  in  1822,  a  dinner  was  given  at  the 
Rowley  tavern  to  celebrate  the  event.  So  many  toasts  were  drunk 
that  some  of  the  younger  of  the  men  became  hilarious  and  insisted 
that  all  the  bottles  in  the  bar  should  be  emptied  and  broken.  Samuel 
Shannon,  C.  E.  Clark,  Dr.  W.  F.  Clark  and  William  H.  Fickell  were 
among  those  who  thought  it  time  to  go  home,  and   one   after  another 


148  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

they  quietly  left.  They  were  not  missed  until  Pickell  started,  when 
some  gave  chase,  but  secured  none  of  them.  Deacon  John  McNair 
got  on  his  horse  to  start  for  home,  when  others  mounted  one  after 
another  behind  him  and  pushed  him  over  his  horse's  head.  There 
were  many  other  amusing  incidents  of  the  night. 

In  1827  or  1828  Samuel  Shannon  had  a  store  on  the  southeast  corner 
of  his  lot  where  the  W.  T.  Spinning  house  now  stands,  where  he  sold 
drugs  and  medicines.  The  intervening  space  between  his  house  and 
store  was  occupied  by  Samuel  Wilson's  saddle  and  harness  shop. 

There  was  a  spirited  debate  in  the  state  assembly  March  22,  1845, 
in  committee  of  the  whole,  on  the  bill  to  authorize  Charles  Shepard 
and  others  to  connect  a  slip  and  basin  with  the  side  cut  to  the  Genesee 
Valley  canal  at  Dansville.  The  forcible  and  illegal  cutting  of  the 
canal  berm  bank  figured  largely  in  the  discussion. 

The  postoffice  was  moved  into  the  Maxwell  block  Feb.  2,  1892. 

The  Dansville  Nursery  Association  was  organized  in  February,  1892. 

The  heaviest  fogs  in  a  generation  shrouded  this  end  of  the  Genesee 
Valley  from  Feb.  20  to  22,  1892.  The  hills  on  neither  side  of  the  valley 
could  not  be  seen  from  Main  street. 

The  Frontier  hotel  on  Jefferson  street  was  burned  May  5,  1892. 

A  Kneipp  cure  was  opened  by  Father  Rauber  in  the  old  seminary 
building  on  the  hillside  in  the  summer  of  1892. 

The  State  Council  of  Empire  Knights  of  Relief  held  its  annual 
meeting  in  Dansville  Dec.  4  and  5,  1894. 

The  Dansville  Farmers'  club  was  organized  March  16,  1895.  Pres- 
ident, George  C.  Stone;  vice  presidents,  S.  W.  Tenney,  A.  J.  Slaight, 
David  Haynes,  Zebulon  Gibbs,  Mrs.  S.  W.  Tenney,  Mrs.  Lorenzo 
Hulbert,  Mrs.  George  C.  Stone;  secretary,  William  W.  Bean;  treas- 
urer, E.  L.  McNair. 

The  village  trustees  granted  a  franchise  to  the  American  Telegraph 
and  Telephone  Co.  May  20,  1 895. 

The  Cornell  Experiment  station  made  three  different  fertilizer  ex- 
periments at  Dansville  in  1895 — two  on  nursery  stock  and  one  on  beans. 

The  annual  state  convention  of  the  Equitable  Aid  Union  was  held 
in  Dansville  June  25  and  26,  1895. 

The  county  convention  of  the  Political  Equality  club  was  held  at 
the  Jackson  Sanatorium  Feb.  4,  1897. 

Sept.  28,  1891,  a  large  meeting  was  held,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Dansville  board  of  trade,  to  consider  a  proposition  for  the  removal  of 
the  Shults  &  Buck  Chair  Co.  plant  from  Avoca  to  Dansville.  A.  O. 
Bunnell  presided,  and  remarks  were  made  by  him,  Dr.  J.  E.  Crisfield, 
D.  O.  Batterson,  A.  J.  Whiteman,  George  J.  Shults,  George  A.  Sweet, 
Dr.  James  H.  Jackson,  Rev.  George  K.  Ward,  William  Kramer,  W. 
T.  Spinning  and  Dr.  G.  Bastian.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
solicit  subscriptions.  The  first  annual  meeting  of  stockholders  was 
held  June  26,  1892,  and  directors  elected  as  follows:  A.  O.  Bunnell, 
George  A.  Sweet,  William  Kramer,  Henry  M.  Altmeyer.  A.  O.  Bun- 
nell was  made  president,  G.  A.  Sweet  vice  president,  H.  M.  Altmeyer 
secretary,  and  George  J'.  Shults  treasurer.  William  Kramer,  G.  A. 
vSweet  and  A.  O.  Bunnell  were  chosen  financial  committee.  The  pri- 
mary object  of  the  enterprise  was  to  increase  the  manufactures  of  the 
village,  and  provide  employment  for  many  more  men,  rather  than  to 


0 THER  DE TA CHED  FACTS  149 

make  money.  The  Woodruff  paper  mill  property  was  bought  for  $10,- 
000,  and  business  commenced  there  then,  with  George  J.  Shults  as 
superintendent.  The  first  annual  report  was  to  the  effect  that  the 
business  was  in  a  healthy  condition,  and  a  profit  of  over  8  per  cent  had 
been  realized.  About  this  time  over  100  men  were  employed.  The 
next  year,  1892,  was  one  of  trying  disappointments,  and  the  directors 
advanced  their  personal  credit  while  the  stockholders  voted  to  increase 
the  capital  stock  from  $57,000  to  $65,000.  In  1893,  a  year  of  a  grow- 
ing financial  depression  throughout  the  country,  orders  were  few,  col- 
lections slow,  the  factory  could  not  be  run  more  than  half  the  time, 
and  in  December  Charles  H.  Rowe  was  appointed  receiver  for  the 
company.  He  sold  the  entire  property, March  2, 1894,  to  F.  W.  Noyes 
as  agent,  for  $14,500,  the  purchasers  assuming  the  large  indebtedness 
of  the  corporation.  A  new  company  was  then  organized,  called  the 
Shults  Chair  Co.,  capitalized  at  $40,000,  which  did  business  under  the 
adverse  conditions  of  a  financial  panic,  debts  and  small  sales  at  small 
profits,  until  losses  compelled  suspension  in  February,  1899.  The 
property  was  finally  sold  at  auction  to  John  Hyland,  he  assuming 
mortgage  and  judgments,  which  made  the  whole  purchase  price  about 
$6,000. 

The  Dansville  Savings  and  Loan  Association  was  organized  in  1888, 
and  held  its  first  annual  meeting  March  14,  1889.  After  a  period  of 
prosperity  trouble  came,  and  a  receiver,  Charles  H.  Rowe,  was  ap- 
pointed in  February,  1897.  In  May,  1897,  25  per  cent  was  divided 
among  stockholders,  the  same  again  in  September,  and  again  a  little 
later,  making  75  per  cent  in  all.     A  further  dividend  is  expected. 

Many  slaves  were  owned  in  New  York  in  the  early  years  of  the  cen- 
tury, and  it  is  an  interesting  local  fact  that  while  Nathaniel  Rochester 
lived  in  Dansville  he  freed  a  negro  slave,  Benjamin,  about  16  years 
old,  and  another  named  Casandra,  about  14  years  old.  The  document 
of  manumission  is  dated  Jan.  29,  1811. 

Prof.  J.  Lyman  Crocker,  the  first  principal  of  Dansville  academy  in 
1836,  taught  but  one  year  here  for  a  salary  of  $900.  The  second  year 
he  wanted  his  salary  raised  to  $1,000,  which  the  trustees  declined  to 
do.  In  this  they  made  a  mistake  for  he  was  greatly  superior  to  his 
immediate  successor  as  a  teacher.  Prof.  Baldwin  taught  in  the  acad- 
emy in  1841-42.     Prof.  Crocker  died  in  Genesee  county  Feb.  11,  1899. 

The  first  lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars  in 
Dansville  was  organized  Oct.  1,  1858,  and  named  Industry  lodge  No. 
211.  The  charter  members  were  H.  H.  Farley,  P.  B.  Bristol,  E.  E. 
Payne,  G.  C.  Hayward,  James  H.  Hoes,  L.  A.  Eggleston,  O.  T. 
Crane,  J.  G.  Sprague,  Alvah  Congdon,  Sidney  Sweet,  D.  IngersoU, 
G.  W.  Shepherd,  and  the  following  ladies:  Mrs.  H.  H.  Farley,  P.  B. 
Bristol,  E.  E.  Payne,  J.  L.  Boon,  G.  W.  Shepherd,  James  H.  Hoes, 
Charles  R.  Kern,  E.  C.  Daugherty,  J.  B.  Gilman,  D.  L.  Roe,  James 
Brown,  S.  M.  Webb.  After  a  few  years  this  lodge  went  down.  In 
1868  Sparkling  Water  lodge  No.  506  was  organized  and  under  the  con- 
tagious enthusiasm  and  liberal  contributions  of  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson, 
grew  to  a  membership  of  730  with  an  average  attendance  of  400.  Its 
meetings  were  held  on  the  third  floor  of  what  is  now  Bunnell  block, 
with  ante-roomson  thesecond  floor,  and  there  was  talk  of  cutting  through 
the  north  brick  wall  to  add  Canaseraga  hall  to  the   main   room   to  ac- 


ISO  DANSVILLE  OF  THE  PAST 

commodate  the  membership,  then  the  largest  in  the  United  State; 
But  the  time  came  (Nov.  13,  1871)  when  this  lodge,  following  the  e3 
ample  of  its  predecessor,  surrendered  its  charter.  But  much  gooc 
still  apparent,  was  accomplished  in  the  brief  but  brilliant  life  of  th 
lodge.  Subsequent  efforts  to  sustain  the  order  of  Good  Templars  i 
Dansville  had  little  encouragement. 

The  first  driven  well  in  Dansville,  and  perhaps  in  the  world,  w£ 
made  by  a  son  of  Harley  Lord,  a  merchant  who  occupied  the  corne 
store  in  the  Dyer  block.  The  well,  made  some  time  before  1852,  cor 
sisted  of  an  old  boat  pump  sunk  in  a  crowbar  hole  in  the  cellar  of  th 
store.  Nelson  W.  Green,  an  insurance  agent  in  Dansville,  caught  o 
to  the  idea  from  this  well,  secured  a  patent  for  driven  wells,  and  er 
deavored,  with  partial  success  to  collect  royalties  from  every  one  wh 
infringed  on  his  patent. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


A.  tSivunmin^  Up 

Head  of  the  Genesee  Valley — Geology — The  Hills  and  Valley — Fertility  of 
the  Soil — Glens — Our  Home  on  the  Hillside — Coterie — The  Library — 
Musical  and  Dramatic — Outdoor  Recreations — ^Public  Spirit. 

THE  area  of  Livingston  county  is  380,665  acres,  and  that  of 
the  town  of  North  Dansville  5,560  acres.  The  Genesee 
valley  beginning  at  Dansville,  685  feet  above  the  sea  and 
400  feet  above  Lake  Ontario,  is  about  fifty  miles  long  and 
from  one  and  one-half  to  four  miles  wide.  The  Genesee 
river,  beginning  in  Potter  county,  Pa.,  flows  145  miles  to 
Lake  Ontario,  125  miles  of  which  is  in  this  state.  Canas- 
eraga  creek,  its  largest  tributary,  rises  in  Nunda,  runs 
through  a  section  of  Steuben  county,  and  returns  to  this 
county  across  the  south  line  of  North  Dansville.  It  re- 
ceives the  waters  of  united  Mill  and  Little  Mill  creeks  and 
of  Stony  brook  within  the  limits  of  the  town,  and  after 
flowing  thirty  miles  from  its  source  enters  the  Genesee  near  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  town  of  Mt.  Morris. 

The  lowest  rock  of  Livingston  county  is  the  water  line  of  the  Onon- 
daga salt  group.  Above  this  in  succession  ai-e  the  Onondaga  and 
corniferous  limestones,  the  Marcellus  shale,  the  Hamilton  group, 
Genesee  slate  and  Portage  group,  the  latter  occupying  the  high  lands 
in  the  south  part  of  the  county.  The  town  of  North  Dansville  is 
underlaid  by  the  Portage  sandstone  group.  The  soil  is  mostly  al- 
luvion and  superior  timber  bottom  lands  of  clay,  gravel  and  muck. 
The  flats  are  unsurpassed  for  the  production  of  grains,  vegetables  and 
fruits,  and  vineyards  on  the  hillsides  produce  abundantly  succulent 
grapes  of  the  finest  flavor.  The  fiats  are  so  well  adapted  to  the  grow- 
ing of  nursery  stock  that  the  extensive  nurseries  cultivated  there  have 
become  famous  in  many  states,  and  there  is  only  one  other  locality  in 
New  York  where  tree-planting  is  so  extensive. 

The  eastern  hills  rise  steeply  800  feet,  pleasing  promontories  are 
formed  by  the  centering  streams  on  the  south,  and  on  the  west  the 
land  slopes  into  broad  billowy  hills.  From  the  high  points  along  the 
eastern  steeps  may  be  seen  one  of  the  most  lovely  landscapes  in  the 
world,  which  has  been  looked  upon  with  exclamations  of  delight  by 
appreciative  tourists  who  have  traveled  far  and  seen  much.  In  late 
autumn  the  hillsides,  with  their  varieties  of  foliage,  looked  at  from 
the  valley,  present  marvels  of  many-hued  colors,  the  equal  of  which 
may  not  easily  be  found  elsewhere.  Short  distances  from  the  village 
are  Stony  brook  and  Culbertson  glens,  silently  inviting  the  people 
to  their  rocky  solitudes  and  rushing  waterfalls,  and  along  their  pre- 
cipitous banks  may  be  found  an  uncounted  variety  of  shrubs,  plants 
and  flowers,  among  and  above  which  the  birds  love  to  flit  and  sing. 

Passing  from  the  physical  characteristics  of  Dansville,  let  us  notice 
others  less  palpable,   but  more  important.     The  situation,  surround- 

151 


«1  ;  ,              A.' 

^S=S^i 

''^^*^&|H^t/ 

'  l^'i'^^'^IM^^HHb^nM^^^ 

\  _     *i  ^ 

A^^^,;;U/'/ 

|JMiji 

IIIhI: 

'          ■:''■■  A   -S      ^ 

W'^'I:  :::;„::ir  . 

VIEW  IN   GREENMOUNT   CEMETARY 


DRIVE  NEAR  SANATORIUM 


A  SU.]fM/NG  UP  153 

ings,  associated  traditions  and  mental  and  moral  influences  have  been 
such  as  to  produce  a  somewhat  exceptional  village  community.  One 
institution  which  has  been  largely  instrumental  in  making  it  so  is  the 
great  Jackson  Sanatorium,  formerly  known  as  "Our  Home  on  the 
Hillside."  Starting  nearly  half  a  century  ago  under  the  manage- 
ment of  a  strong  original  man — who  even  then  perceived  and  applied 
the  best  therapeutics  of  today,  and  soon  gave  it  fame  by  means  of  his 
eloquent  tongue,  ready  pen,  and  successful  treatment  of  the  sick — ^it 
has  made  steady  progress  from  then  till  now.  Dansville  people  have 
received  two  important  kinds  of  benefit  in  large  measure  from  this 
institution:  One  is,  the  more  hopeful  and  reasonable  ideas  regarding 
human  life  imbibed  from  its  constant  droppings  in  their  midst,  in 
speech,  magazine,  newspaper  and  pamphlet,  with  the  good  results  of 
treatment  as  object  lessons;  and  the  other  is,  the  intellectual  and 
social  gain  derived  from  some  of  the  wisest  and  brightest  minds 
whom  it  has  attracted  as  patients,  companions  and  guests.  The  im- 
pressions thus  made  upon  the  community  may  not  be  distinctly  trace- 
able in  direct  channels,  but  observing  citizens  can  hardly  fail  to  per- 
ceive that  they  have  been  pervading  and  valuable. 

Another  potent  influence  has  come  from  the  admirable  literary 
circle  known  as  the  Coterie,  which  was  organized  in  the  fall  of  1873 
and  has  been  kept  vigorous  ever  since.  Started  some  years  before  the 
Chautauqua  circles  began  or  the  "Chautauqua  idea"  had  been  evolved 
in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Vincent,  it  was  conceived  and  has  been  carried 
forward  on  a  broader  and  more  liberal  plan  than  the  Chautauquan, 
and  has  enlarged  the  views  of  its  members  to  an  incalculable  extent. 
A  general  survey  of  the  subjects  it  has  considered  and  the  variety  of 
good  work  it  has  done  would  astonish  any  appreciative  mind  unac- 
quainted with  its  history.  The  benefits  thus  obtained  by  the  mem- 
bers have  been  more  or  less  reflected  upon  the  village  as  a  whole,  and 
helped  to  educate  young  and  old  without  as  well  as  within  the  little 
society.  It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  in  the  state,  outside  of  the  colleges 
and  the  largest  cities,  a  literary  society  of  its  age  which  has  accom- 
plished so  much  in  proportion  to  membership.  And  its  good  reputa- 
tion has  extended  so  far  that  several  circles  in  other  communities 
have  been  modeled  after  it. 

Similar  have  been  the  effects  of  the  successful  movement  by  a  few 
earnest  men  and  women  for  a  circulating  library,  from  which  books 
began  to  be  distributed  about  the  time  that  Coterie  was  born,  and 
which  was  kept  up  and  annually  enlarged  by  the  efforts  of  its  private 
Library  association  until  it  was  transferred  to  the  supervision  of  the 
state  and  began  to  receive  the  state  moneys,  thereby  becoming  the 
large  nucleus  for  the  larger  free  district  library.  It  has  supplied  the 
citizens  with  useful  and  entertaining  reading,  which  they  would  not 
otherwise  have  had,  for  nearly  thirty  years,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
very  best  of  village  libraries  both  in  the  quality  and  number  of  its 
books. 

Dansville  is  quite  noted  in  Western  New  York  for  its  social  amen- 
ities and  functions  and  its  dramatic  entertainments  by  amateur  home 
talent.  Much  inspiration  productive  of  the  latter  has  been  derived 
from  the  Sanatorium,  where  Mr.  Spencer  for  a  score  of  years  has  been 
resourceful  in  preparing  or  arranging  for  weekly  theatrical  and  musi- 


IN   STONY   BROOK   GLEN 


A  SUALMING  UP  155 

cal  entertainments,  in  the  Sanatorium  parlors  and  hall,  which  have 
been  surprisingly  varied  and  excellent.  Down  town  the  Union  Hose 
company  takes  precedence  in  the  quality  and  elaborate  character  of 
its  annual  representations,  which  are  eagerly  looked  forward  to  by  al- 
most the  entire  population,  and  compare  favorably  with  the  best  class 
of  vaudeville  shows  of  the  cities. 

That  Dansville  believes  in  play  spells  and  recreation  appears  not 
only  in  its  frequent  social  gatherings  and  local  entertainments,  but 
the  interest  of  its  people  in  out-door  sports,  their  frequent  celebra- 
tions, excursions  and  picnics,  and  the  numerous  cottages  they  have 
built  for  summer  occupation  on  Hemlock  and  Conesus  lakes. 

That  they  have  superior  recuperative  power  in  times  of  depression 
is  evident  in  their  quick  financial  recovery  from  the  two  very  disas- 
trous bank  failures  in  1884  and  1887.  If  they  have  sometimes  seemed 
lacking  in  public  spirit,  it  has  been  attributable  more  to  the  confus- 
ing effects  of  party  strife  or  the  opposing  influences  of  wealthy  fam- 
ilies than  an  untoward  natural  disposition.  The  fine  and  expensive 
school  building — costing  $26,500,  and  because  of  loss  of  deposits  in  a 
bank  failure,  twice  paid  for — some  of  its  churches,  its  three  parks,  its 
macadamized  streets,  its  first-class  water  works  and  fire  department, 
its  beautiful  and  well-kept  Greenraount  cemetery,  are  evidences  that 
it  is  easy  for  them  to  rise  above  petty  pocket  considerations  and 
spend  their  money  for  the  public  good  when  their  eyes  are  opened  to 
public  needs.  But  the  most  of  them  are  conservative,  as  the  eight 
orthodox  churches,  the  absence  of  isms,  the  annual  democratic  major- 
ities since  very  long  ago,  and  the  not  remote  old  school  house  on  the 
square  with  old  methods  of  instruction,  go  to  show.  And  it  required 
a  village  improvement  society,  with  energetic  Dr.  B.  P.  Andrews  at 
the  head,  after  years  of  agitation  and  Dennis  Bunnell's  more  practical 
and  persistent  efforts  had  partly  cleared  their  vision,  to  arouse  them 
to  a  keen  sense  of  the  need  for  park  improvements,  but  they  saw  at 
last  and  then  acted.  This  conservatism  is  better  than  being  "blown 
about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine,"  but  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  is 
too  slow.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  they  are  more  and  more  get- 
ting out  of  their  old  ruts,  through  the  influences  of  the  hillside  insti- 
tution, the  newspapers,  the  Coterie,  and  more  than  all,  the  now  ex- 
cellent High  school  and  the  two  parochial  schools.  There  is  no  eye- 
opener  equal  to  good  schools  and  universal  education  therein  of  rich 
and  poor  alike. 


Biog'raphies 


JAMES   H.  JACKSON 


I      BI« 


BIOGRAPHICAL 
^ ^ 


James  H.  Jackson 

James  Hathawa}'  Jackson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  has  been  for 
forty-four  years  a  citizen  of  Dansville,  and  intimately  connected  with 
the  Jackson  Sanatorium, in  its  foundation, growth  and  development.  His 
great-great-great  grandfather  was  Lieutenant  John  Jackson,  an  inn 
keeper  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  who  inherited  the  Brattle  street  lands  of 
his  uncle  Richard  Jackson,  and  who  was  active  in  Cambridge  affairs 
from  1660  to  1690,  and  a  member  of  Major  Appleton's  company  in  the 
Narragansett  war.  His  great-great  grandfather  was  Deacon  John 
Jackson,  born  in  Weston,  Mass. ;  and  who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Tyrringham,  Mass.  His  great  grandfather  was  Col.  Giles  Jackson 
of  ^lonterey,  Mass.,  who  was  major  of  the  first  Berkshire  regiment  of 
the  Massachusetts  militia,  and  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  being 
a  member  of  the  staff  of  General  Horatio  Gates  at  the  battle  of  Sara- 
toga, and  had  the  honor  of  engrossing  the  terms  of  capitulation  which 
General  Burgoyne  signed  upon  his  surrender  to  General  Gates.  His 
grandfather  was  James  Jackson,  physician,  surgeon  and  farmer  of 
Manlius,  Onondaga  county.  New  York.  He  was  post  surgeon  at  Sack- 
ett  Harbor  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  father  was  Dr.  James  Caleb  Jack- 
son, a  sketch  of  whom  will  be  found  in  this  history.  On  his  mother's 
side  he  was  a  descendant  of  Elder  William  Brewster  and  Gov.  William 
Bradford  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  his  mother  being  the  daughter  of 
Judge  Elias  Brewster  of  Mexico,  N.  Y. 

Born  and  reared  until  the  age  of  seven  years  in  the  town  of  Peterboro, 
Madison  county,  N.  Y.,  he  then  with  his  father  went  to  Glen  Haven, 
Cayuga  county, where  he  lived  untill8S8,  being  17  yearsof  age  thefall  he 
came  to  Dansville.  He  attended  school  in  the  old  brick  schoolhouse 
under  Prof.  Seager,  and  afterwards  finished  his  education  at  the  Dans- 
ville seminary  under  the  same  teacher.  He  graduated  from  East- 
man's Commercial  college  in  the  spring  of  1861,  and  became  the 
cashier  and  bookkeeper  of  his  father's  institution  in  the  month  of  May 
of  that  year,  and  the  next  year  became  superintendent  and  general 
business  manager,  which  office  he  held  without  interruption  or  any 
interregnum  until  1883,  when  for  three  years  the  management  passed 
into  the  hands  of  William  E.  Leffingwell,  under  the  new  organization 
of  the  Sanatorium.  In  1864  he  married  Katherine  Johnson,  daughter 
of  Hon.  Emerson  Johnson  of  Sturbridge,  Mass.,  who  afterwards  came 
to  live  with  his  son-in-law.  On  the  death  of  his  brother  Giles  E.  Jack- 
son he  became  a  partner  in  1864  in  the  institution,  whose  business  he 
continued  to  manage.  In  1873  he  began  his  medical  studies,  graduat- 
ing in  the  spring  of  1876  from  the  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  college 
of  New  York  city,  and  at  once   entered    upon  a  professional  career  as 

159 


160  BIOGRAPHICAL 

his  father's  first  assistant  on  the  medical  staff  of  the  institution.  His 
fatlier's  declining  health  gave  him  a  leading  position  on  the  staff  from 
1882  onward.  In  the  year  1888  he  bought  out  his  partners,  the  broth- 
ers Leffingwell,  and  became  sole  owner  of  the  great  institution.  He, 
however,  at  once  associated  with  himself  in  the  ownership  and  man- 
agement of  the  institution  Dr.  Walter  E.  Gregory  and  his  wife,  Mrs. 
Helen  Davis  Gregory.  On  May  4,  1868,  James  Arthur  Jackson  was 
born,  the  only  son  of  Dr.  James  H.  and  Katherine  Jackson,  who  early 
became  associated  with  his  father  in  the  business  of  the  institution, 
and  was  admitted  to  ownership  and  to  the  directorate  of  it  in  1900. 

Dr.  Jackson  is  also  interested  in  the  business  and  social  life  and  en- 
terprise of  the  town,  and  is  an  active  participant  in  all  movements  for 
its  progress  and  development.  He  was  admitted  a  member  of  Phoenix 
Lodge  No.  lis  F.  and  A.  M.  July  16,  1867,  and  in  1879  became  Worship- 
ful Master  for  a  term  of  years.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Dansville  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  No.  91.  He  served  his  time  as  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Education  when  the  new  High  school  was  first  started,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Dansville  Cemetery  Associa- 
tion and  was  the  first  Republican  village  president  elected  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  town  after  a  pleasant  rivalry  with  his  lifelong  friend,  George 
A.  Sweet,  being  elected  only  by  a  narrow  majority  of  a  vote  or  two. 

His  residence  on  the  corner  of  Health  and  William  streets,  known 
as  "Brightside, "  was  occupied  by  him  and  other  members  of  his  fam- 
ily from  the  year  1870  to  1901,  at  which  time  he  moved  with  his  fam- 
ily into  the  handsome  structure  known  as  "Alta  Vista,"  built  on  the 
grounds  formerly  owned  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paul  Bouyon  just  south, of 
the  Sanatorium. 

Dr.  Jackson  is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution, 
the  Society  of  Colonial  Wars  and  the  Society  of  Mayflower  Descend- 
ants. 

TKe  Hyland  Family 

The  Hylands  of  Dansville  were  a  remarkable  family,  now  extinct. 
The  three  men — father  and  two  sons — were  striking  individualities, 
with  powerful  wills,  great  persistence,  and  keen  perceptions,  who 
generally  succeeded  in  what  they  undertook,  and  whose  straight- 
forward honesty  was  proverbial.  While  they  were  generous  to  a 
fault  in  the  direction  of  their  likes,  they  could  dislike  as  strongly, 
and  never  shrank  from  a  contest  because  of  the  strength  and  numbers 
of  their  adversaries.  Those  who  knew  them  as  they  were — not  always 
as  they  seemed — liked  them    best   or   admired   them    most. 

George  Hyland,  Sr. ,  was  born  in  Ireland  June  21,  1803,  and  came 
with  his  father's  family  to  America  when  he  was  fourteen  years  old. 
They  located  in  Toronto  Canada,  where  the  father  died  two  years  after- 
ward. Then  the  young  George  began  the  struggle  of  life  with  the 
determination  which  never  failed  him.  He  did  farm  work,  attending 
school  at  intervals  and  then,  from  1820  to  1824,  worked  at  and  thor- 
oughly learned  the  hatter's  and  furrier's  trade  in  Toronto.  In  1824 
he  went  to  Prescott,  from  Prescott  to  Ogdensburg,   N.   Y. ,   and   from 


163  BIOGRAPHICAL 

Ogdensburg  to  Bethel,  N.  Y.  In  Bethel  he  attended  school  nearly  a 
year  working  between  school  hours  to  pay  his  way.  In  May,  1829,  he 
came  to  Dansville,  and  it  became  his  future  home.  He  opened  a  store 
for  the  sale  of  dry-goods,  hats,  caps,  and  furs,  and  this  was  the  begin- 
ning of  his  successful  business  career,  which  continued  without  failure 
during  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  first  a  Whig  in  politics,  but  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  Republican  party  soon  after  its  organization, 
and  in  1860  was  elected  Member  of  Assembly  after  nearly  a  unani- 
mous nomination  in  the  Republican  County  Convention.  In  1865  he 
was  appointed  postmaster,  but  his  free  and  open  criticisms  of  Presi- 
dent Johnson's  administration  policy  led  to  his  dismissal.  He  was 
never  an  office  seeker  and  never  a  political  trimmer,  but  always  zeal- 
ous for  his  party  because  he  believed  in  it.  He  could  make  a  good 
political  speech  when  an  occasion  seemed  to  require  one  from  him  and 
it  was  sure  to  be  brief,  pointed  and  forcible  like  his  private  conversa- 
tion, but  he  did  not  care  for  such  opportunities. 

George  Hyland  was  rigid  in  his  business  methods  and  he  never  de- 
viated a  hair's  breadth  from  strict  honesty,  never  took  advantage  of 
anyone  in  any  transaction.  He  was  much  more  generous  than  his 
neighbors  supposed  him  to  be.  To  needy  creditors  he  was  lenient  and 
kind,  and  he  distributed  many  private  charities  which  were  never  men- 
tioned by  himself  and  if  they  became  known  it  was  through  the  recip- 
ients or  their  friends.  Many  recipients  never  knew  from  where  their 
relief  came.  He  was  one  of  Dansville's  most  public  spirited  citizens, 
and  did  what  he  well  could  to  build  up  the  village,  make  it  prosperous 
and  give  it  a  good  reputation  abroad.  The  sub-branch  of  the  Genesee 
Valley  Canal  near  the  center  of  the  village,  which  was  invaluable  dur- 
ing the  booming  decade  that  followed,  would  never  have  been  con- 
structed but  for  his  energetic  efforts  and  unyielding  will.  In  1873  he 
erected  the  four-story  Hyland  Block  with  its  fine  stores  and  largest 
and  best  hotel  in  Livingston  County.  But  to  enumerate  all  that  he 
did  for  Dansville  and  its  citizens  in  practical,  judicious  and  wholly 
unostentatious  ways  would  fill  a  book.  In  a  local,  political  or  personal 
fight  he  was  always  aggressive  and  determined,  and  generally  won. 

In  1833  George  Hyland  married  the  widow  of  Jacob  Sholl  who  died 
about  1828.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Major  Thomas  Lemen.  By  Jacob 
Sholl  she  had  a  son,  William  H.  Sholl,  and  a  daughter  Catharine 
Lemen  Sholl.  Both  moved  to  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Catherine  married 
Col.  E.  A.  Scovill  of  Cleveland  in  Dansville  in  1845,  and  their  son 
E.T.  Scovill,  is  now  a  resident  of  Dansville.  Mrs.  Hyland  was  a  woman 
of  lovely  character,  almost  worshipped  by  her  husband  and  children, 
and  their  domestic  life  was  a  very  happy  one. 

George  Hyland,  Jr.,  was  born  December  27,  1834,  and  died  June  12, 
1896.  With  some  of  the  strong  traits  of  his  father  he  possessed  others 
which  brought  him  into  wider  contact  with  the  world  and  the  refine- 
ments of  polite  society.  He  early  acquired  much  legal  and  general 
business  knowledge.  His  military  career  in  the  Civil  War  was  bril- 
liant. He  was  commissioned  as  first  lieutenant  of  Co.  B.  13th  N.  Y. 
Infantry  in  April  1861,  and  was  in  the  active  and  dangerous  service 
of  that  fighting  regiment  for  two  years.  He  was  soon  promoted  to 
Captain  and  then  to  Major,  and  last  was  breveted  Colonel  for  his  gal- 
lantry in  battle.      Before  his  enlistment  he  had  been  one  of  Col.  T.  B. 


BIOGRA  PHICA  L  163 

Grant's  crack  militia  company,  the  Canaseragas,  and  therein  had  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  drill  and  discipline  which  greatly  increased  his 
efficiency  in  the  Union  Army.  Mark  J.  Bimjiell  who  served  by  his 
side,  relates  an  incident  which  illustrates  his  impetuous  bravery. 
Once  when  leading  his  company  in  a  charge,  Col.  Hyland  rushed  so 
far  ahead  that  he  was  surrounded  by  rebels.  He  refused  to  surrender 
and  after  emptying  his  revolver,  nearly  every  shot  of  which  was  fatal, 
threw  it  at  his  opponents,  wrenched  a  musket  from  one  of  them  and 
using  it  as  a  club,  continued  fighting  until  he  fell  unconscious  from 
wounds,  and  in  this  condition  was  found  by  his  men  when  they  came 
up.  He  was  not  seriously  injured,  and  in  a  few  days  was  again  ready 
for  active  service.  In  another  engagement  he  was  seriously  wounded 
in  the  side  and  head  from  the  bursting  of  a  shell.  He  never  recovered 
fully  from  the  nervous  shock  caused  by  these  injuries.  The  effect  of 
the  blow  on  the  head  was  more  apparent  in  after  years,  occasionally 
inducing  great  worry  and  excitement  over  matters  that  at  other  times 
he  would  have  regarded  as  trivial.  He  was  unusually  courteous  and 
genial,  and  his  popularity  in  the  best  circles  of  Rochester,  while  he 
lived  there,  is  still  spoken  of  among  his  former  acquaintances. 

Col.  Hyland  was  elected  Sheriff'  of  Livingston  County  in  1867,  and 
filled  the  office  with  conspicuous  ability  for  three  years.  He  was  also 
Republican  State  Committeeman  for  this  Congressional  District  and 
in  186')  and  1875  was  a  member  of  the  Governor's  staff  as  inspector  of 
the  National  Guard.  For  a  time  after  the  war  he  was  engaged  in 
business  in  Rochester,  and  there  became  a  member  of  the  famous  vol- 
unteer fire  company,  the  Alert  Hose.  In  this  he  acquired  experience 
and  knowledge  as  a  fireman,  which  made  him  the  most  valuable  aid 
in  the  organization  of  the  new  Dansville  Fire  Department  in  1874. 
He  was  the  first  foreman  of  the  Union  Hose  Company  and  the  first 
chief  engineer  of  the  Dansville  Fire  Department.  He  more  than 
anyone  else  was  instrumental  in  bringing  the  department  to  its  pres- 
ent unquestioned  efficiency.  Later,  Col.  Hyland  gave  close  attention 
to  his  father's  business,  and  during  his  later  years  was  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  in  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota.     He  never  married. 

John  Hyland,  the  second  and  youngest  son  of  George  Hyland,  was 
born  January  21,  1837,  and  died  February  15,  1900.  Like  his  brother 
he  remained  a  bachelor.  The  most  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Dansville, 
but  in  1857  he  went  to  California  and  was  gone  about  three  years. 
Then  he  engaged  in  placer  mining  on  the  Feather  River  at  Marysville 
and  for  sometime  was  employed  by  the  Wells  Fargo  Express  Com- 
pany to  convey  packages  and  letters  through  the  Indian  country  on 
horseback,  an  extremely  dangerous  undertaking,  but  it  appealed  to 
his  love  of  risk  and  adventure,  and  he  successfully  accomplished  the 
work,  continuing  it  until  the  Indian  troubles  were  over.  When  Gen. 
Lander  made  his  famous  reconnoissance  for  a  military  road  across  the 
mountains  from  California  to  Nevada,  Mr.  Hyland  enlisted  with  him 
as  a  scout.  He  participated  in  the  numerous  fights  with  the  Indians, 
who  opposed  the  expedition,  and  did  such  valuable  scouting  service 
as  to  enlist  warm  commendations  from  his  gallant  commander.  He 
returned  to  Dansville  when  the  Civil  War  began,  and  Gen.  Lander 
offered  him  a  commission  if  he  would  join  his  troops  in  the  field;  but 
Mr.  Hyland  decided  that  his  place  was  at  home  with   his   father   and 


164  BIOGRAPHICAL 

mother  while  his  brother  was  fighting  at  the  front.  Two  or  three 
times  during  the  war,  however,  at  the  solicitation  of  Gen.  Lander  he 
made  hazardous  trips  through  the  rebel  lines,  the  exact  nature  of 
which  he  did  not  disclose.  He  rendered  other  useful  service  in  en- 
listing recruits  under  a  commission  from  Gov.  Morgan,  and  after  the 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run  went  to  Virginia  with  A.  O.  Bunnell  to  find 
and  relieve  some  of  the  wounded  and  sick  soldiers. 

For  many  years  after  the  war  John  Hyland  was  the  most  influential 
factor  in  Livingston  county  politics  as  a  republican  leader  and  coun- 
selor and  his  advice  and  assistance  were  often  sought  by  prominent 
republicans  of  other  counties.  He  was  postmaster  three  successive 
terms  during  the  administrations  of  Presidents  Grant,  Hayes  and 
Arthur,  and  might  have  had  other  important  offices  if  he  had  desired 
them.  After  his  father's  death  he  relaxed  his  grasp  upon  politics, 
and  devoted  himself  to  business.  He  delighted  in  fishing  and  hunting 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Winons  Point  Shooting  Club  near  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  and  of  the  Adirondack  Club  on  Fish  Creek,  a  famous  trout 
stream  in  the  wilds  of  Oneida  and  Oswego  counties,  where  he  would 
go  for  a  few  weeks  each  year  with  his  Cleveland  and  Pulaski  friends. 
Once  a  party  of  them  were  held  up  by  a  highwayman  on  the  stage 
road,  when  Mr.  Hyland  instantly  leaped  from  the  wagon  upon  him, 
and  bore  down  and  took  his  revolver  from  him.  This  is  but  one  of 
numerous  episodes  in  his  life  which  showed  his  quick  presence  of 
mind  and  entire  fearlessness,  and  his  strength  and  agility  were  equal 
to  his  courage.  When  there  were  rows  and  other  disturbances  in 
Dansville  he  was  the  man  to  cow  the  bullies  and  fighters  and  restore 
peace. 

John  Hyland  was  "a  plain,  blunt  man,"  but  thoroughly  humane 
and  was  always  a  kind  and  helpful  friend  of  the  poor  and  distressed. 
He  visited  many  sick  people,  carried  or  sent  to  them  needy  comforts 
and  often  sat  by  their  bedsides  and  cared  for  them.  Like  his  father 
he  was  lenient  to  honest  debtors  and  has  released  not  a  few  of  them 
from  burdensome  obligations.  Like  his  father,  also,  he  was  quiet  and 
private  in  his  generosities  which  were  frequent  and  diversified. 
Before  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  days  he  would  give  orders  to 
dealers  to  send  supplies  in  accordance  with  lists  furnished,  to 
the  most  needy  families  of  the  village,  charging  each  tradesman  to 
say  nothing  about  the  source  from  which  they  came.  Withal  John 
Hyland  was  an  appreciative  reader  of  the  English  classics,  and  loved 
Shakespeare  especially,  from  whose  plays  he  could  quote  many  pas- 
sages. 

Such  was  John  Hyland — a  man  without  pretense  or  hypocrisy,  brave, 
loyal  and  generous.  If  he  harbored  unjust  dislikes  to  political  or  per- 
sonal foes,  so  keen  were  his  perceptions,  so  logical  his  conclusions  that 
they  were  very  few.  It  is  doubtful  if  anyone  has  died  in  Dansville 
within  the  last  quarter  century  who  was  more   respected  and  beloved. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  165 

£liKti  Iv.  Stanley 

Elihu  Lewis  vStanley,  Dansville's  oldest  citizen,  died  August  22, 
1902.  Mr.  Stanley  was  born  in  Goshen,  Conn.,  Nov.  11,  1808,  one 
of  ten  children,  of  whom  Mrs.  James  Orton  of  Geneseo  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor. In  1811  the  Stanley  family  came  to  Mount  Morris,  then  Allen's 
Hill.  In  1830  Mr.  Stanley  came  to  Dansville  and  served  as  clerk  in 
Luther  Melvin's  general  store  for  nine  months.  He  then  went  away 
to  return  the  following  year  to  make  Dansville  his  home.  In  1832  he 
was  clerk  for  W.  F.  Clark  in  the  mercantile  and  lumbering  business. 
Later  he  conducted  a  store  of  his  own  for  a  few  years  on  the  present 
site  of  the  postoffice.  In  1845-6  he  cleared  $8,000  in  the  Woodville 
mill,  and  in  1847  bought  twelve  acres  of  land  for  $5,000,  including 
shop,  dam  and  water  privilege,  on  which  he  built  the  stone  grist  mill, 
now  owned  by  Frank  G.  Hall,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  Mr.  Stanley  mar- 
ried Miss  Mercy  Brace  in  West  Hartford,  Conn.,  who  died  about 
twenty  years  ago.  Their  only  child,  George  B.  Stanley,  was  killed  at 
the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run.  Mr.  Stanley  was  an  extensive  dealer 
in  grain  and  mill  products  for  himself  and  for  Rochester  millers. 
During  the  past  twenty  years  he  has  been  retired  from  active  life  and 
for  twelve  years  had  lived  with  Miss  Ada  Smith,  daughter  of  his  sister, 
Mrs.  George  R.  Smith.  Mr.  Stanley  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyter- 
ian church  from  the  building  of  the  first  church  in  Dansville.  He  re- 
tained his  interest  in  church  and  society  to  the  last,  and  was  quite 
active  physically  and  mentally  until  last  December,  since  which  time 
he  has  been  largely  confined  to  the  house. 

The  introductory  sketch  to  chapter  viii.  entitled  "Recollections  of 
Living  Old  Citizens,"  and  containing  a  half-tone  engraving  of  Mr. 
Stanley,  is  reminiscent  of  him,  having  been  written  at  his  dictation 
only  a  few  months  ago. 

THe  Cogswell  Family- 
William  Cogswell,  the  manager  of  an  extensive  lumber  yard  at  the 
foot  of  West  Avenue,  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  is  held  in  high  repute  through- 
out this  portion  of  Livingston  County  as  a  man  of  fair  business  deal- 
ings and  upright  personal  character.  He  was  born  in  Dansville,  Octo- 
ber 3,  1850,  and  is  the  offspring  of  an  old  Connecticut  family,  his  father 
and  paternal  grandfather,  both  of  whom  were  baptized  Daniel  Cogs- 
well, being  natives  of  that  State.  The  senior  Daniel  remained  there 
until  of  middle  age,  when  he  removed  to  Schuyler  County,  New 
York,  where  he  bought  and  improved  a  small  farm,  on  which  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  twice  married,  the 
father  of  William  being  a  child  of  his  second  union.  Daniel 
Cogswell,  Jr.  was  reared  to  manhood  in  Schuyler  County,  re- 
ceived a  good  common-school  education,  and  was  thoroughly  initiated 
into  the  mysteries  of  agriculture  on  the  paternal  homestead.  Some 
time  during  the  forties  he  came  to  this  county  and  located  in  Dans- 
ville, where  for  many  years  he  kept  a  grocery  store.  In  1855  he 
began  dealing  in  lumber,  selling  to  the  wholesale  trade  in  Rochester. 
Four  years  later,   having  already  secured  a  good  start,  he  established 


BIOGRAPHICAL  16^ 

the  business  now  carried  on  by  his  son  William,  continuing  it  until 
the  time  nf  his  decease,  in  February  1876,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven 
years.  "While  in  Schuyler  County  he  wooed  and  won  the  affections  of 
Miss  Hettie  Owen:  and  their  happy  union  was  gladdened  by  the  birth 
of  three  children — Mary  E.,  Elura,  and  the  aforementioned  William, 
Mary,  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Jacob  J.  Gilder;  and  Elura 
married  Henry  C.  Fenstermacher.  The  mother  is  still  living,  and  the 
son  makes  his  home  with  her,  devoting  himself  to  her  comfort  and  hap- 
piness. Daniel  Cogswell,  Jr.,  was  quite  prominent  in  this  section  of 
the  county,  actively  interested  in  its  political  and  religious  welfare, 
and  was  for  many  years  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Advent  church, 
preaching  in  Dansville  and  the  surrounding  towns.  He  held  many 
high  public  offices,  serving  several  years  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  be- 
sides which  he  was  village  Trustee,  Assessor,  and  Highway  Commis- 
sioner, receiving  the  nomination  of  both  political  parties,  although  he 
was  a  staunch  Democrat. 

Since  the  death  of  his  father,  William  Cogswell  has  carried  on  the 
lumber  business,  greatly  increasing  its  extent.  He  has  also  succeeded 
in  a  large  measure  to  the  position  formerly  occupied  by  his  father  in 
the  management  of  local  and  county  matters,  having  served  continu- 
ously the  past  twelve  years  as  the  village  Assessor  and  town  Assessor. 
For  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Protective  Fire  Company  of 
this  town,  but  is  now  exempt  from  active  duty,  although  an  honorary 
member  of  the  company.  In  politics  he  has  followed  the  teachings  of 
his  youthful  days,  and  is  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Democratic  ticket. 
Socially  Mr.  Cogswell  is  a  member  of  the  Maccabees  and  also  of  the 
local  order  of  Red  Men. 

THe  Ferine  Family 

Capt.  William  Ferine  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  serving  five 
years  under  Gen.  Francis  Marion,  and  receiving  an  honorable  dis- 
charge at  the  end  of  the  war.  He  came  to  this  state  from  Cambridge, 
Mass.  There  were  but  four  families  in  Dansville  when  he  arrived 
here  in  1779  from  Williamsburg,  N.  Y.  He  took  up  the  tract  of  land 
along  Main  street  known  as  the  Ferine  Tract,  extending  north  to  the 
Hammond  farm  and  south  to  the  present  Liberty  street.  He  subse- 
quently sold  all  his  land  south  of  Ferine  street,  and  retained  the  rest 
until  he  died.  This  extended  from  Main  street  to  the  foot  of  East  hill. 
He  built  a  log  house,  afterwards  a  frame  house  a  little  east  of  Health 
street  and  in  front  of  the  present  Sanatorium,  and  still  later  the  home- 
stead at  the  end  of  Ferine  street.  He  raised  a  family  of  four  boys  and 
six  girls,  all  of  whom  are  dead  while  only  four  of  his  grandchildren  are 
living.  He  was  born  in  1756  and  died  in  1849.  He  was  both  amiable 
and  brave,  as  became  a  captain  of  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  the 
Indians  of  the  early  days  feared  and  respected  him. 

His  son,  Peter  Ferine,  was  born  in  Dansville  Aug.  7,  1779,  soon 
after  the  coming  of  his  father.  When  he  had  grown  to  manhood  he 
bought  a  farm  on  East  hill,  and  after  his  father's  death  became  pos- 
sessor of  a  portion  of  his  land  including  the  old  homestead  and   the 


lUOGRAPHICAL  169 

famous  All  Healing-  Sprino-.  He  always  followed  the  farmer's  occupa- 
tion. He  was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  retained  his  connection  with  it  during  life,  or  half  a  century.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  to  identify  himself  with  the  Washingtonian  tem- 
perance movement,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  free  and  courageous 
expression  to  both  his  religious  and  temperance  convictions.  He  was 
thoroughly  conscientious  and  faithful  to  duty  as  he  understood  it  in 
all  the  relations  of  his  quiet  life  with  church  and  people.  He  died 
INIarch  '),  1883,  aged  Si^j  years.  His  surviving  children  are  Dr. 
F.  ]\I.  Ferine  of  Dansville,  and  Thomas  L.  Ferine  of  Ohio. 

Dr.  Francis  Marion  Ferine,  oldest  son  of  Peter  Ferine,  named  for 
his  grandfather's  favorite  general,  was  born  in  Dansville,  March  27, 
1831.  He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Endress,  and  graduated  from 
the  Buffalo  Medical  College  in  March,  1855.  He  has  practiced  medi- 
cine almost  half  a  century — five  or  six  years  in  Byersville,  and  the  rest 
of  the  period  in  Dansville — with  skill,  prudence  and  success.  For 
twenty-one  years  he  held  the  office  of  coroner.  Pie  is  a  Mason,  and  was 
a  high  priest  of  the  order  five  years.  He  has  been  a  prominent  and 
useful  member  of  the  I^ivingston  County  Historical  Society  from  the 
time  of  its  organization.  He  was  president  of  the  society  in  1886  and 
is  now  and  has  been  for  years  president  of  its  board  of  councilmen. 
Among  the  local  positions  which  he  has  held  is  that  of  president  of  the 
village,  and  member  of  the  board  of  education  of  Dansville  High  School. 
In  politics  he  is  a  republican,  in  religion  a  Presbyterian,  and  his  pres- 
ent good  health  and  undimmed  faculties  indicate  that  he  will  live  to 
serve  his  church  and  country  many  years  longer  with  accustomed 
enthusiasm  and  public  spirit. 

William    Kramer 

William  Kramer,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  merchant  tailor  and 
dealer  in  ready  made  clothing  and  gentlemen's  furnishings  in  Dans- 
ville, was  born  in  Gettersbach,  province  Hessen  Darmstadt,  Germany, 
July  31,  1842.  Bernhardt  Kramer,  father  of  William,  received  his 
education  in  the  schools  of  Germany,  and  learned  the  trade  of  a  cooper, 
which  he  followed  in  his  native  country  tmtil  1847,  when  he  came  to 
America,  bringing  his  eldest  son  Adam  with  him.  He  settled  for  a 
time  in  Dansville,  and  worked  at  his  trade  in  the  shop  of  his  brother 
John  on  Ferine  street.  In  1849  he  and  his  son  Adam  went  to  New 
Orleans.  While  there  his  sight  became  impaired  and  he  decided  to 
return  to  his  family  in  Germany  for  treatment.  He  eventually  re- 
covered his  sight,  and  in  1856  came  with  his  wife  and  children  to 
Dansville  where  he  followed  his  trade  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  April,  1872,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 

The  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  Bernhardt  Kramer  was  Eva  Eliz- 
abeth Freidel.  She  was  a  native  of  Germany  and  she  and  her  husband 
had  five  children  as  follows:  Adam,  who  left  his  father  at  New 
Orleans  and  went  to  California,  and  there  died  in  1858;  Catherine, 
who  married  Louis  Hess  of  Ottawa,  111.  ;  Fred,  George,  and  William 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.     The  mother  died  at    Dansville  at  the  age 


WILLIAM    KRAMER 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


171 


of  seventy-three.  Both  she  and  her  husband  were  members  of  the 
German  Lutheran  church. 

William  Kramer  came  to  Dansville  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  In  1857 
he  entered  the  employ  of  James  Krein,  a  grocer,  as  clerk,  remaining 
three  years,  and  then  filled  a  like  position  in  the  employ  of  Milton  J. 
Puffer,  the  clothier.  Messrs.  Kellogg  &  Nares  purchased  the  stock  of 
Mr.  Puffer  in  1861  and  Mr.  Kramer  remained  with  them  until  August, 

1862.  His  patriotism  and  |^love  for  his  adopted  country  made  him 
enlist  as  private  in  Company  K,  One  Hundred  and  Thirtieth  Regi- 
ment of  New   York   Infantry,    serving  as  such  until  the  summer  of 

1863,  when  the  regiment  through  the  influence  of  its  Colonel,  Alfred 
Gibbs,  were  mounted  and  united  with  the  cavalry  forces  of  the 
Potomac,  and   thereafter   known  as  the   First    New  York  Dragoons. 


B.ESIDENCE,  WILLIAM   KRAMER 


Mr.  Kramer  was  promoted  to  corporal  in  1862,  to  sergeant  in  1863 
and  to  sergeant-major  in  1865.     He  was  wounded  on  the  10th  of  May 

1864,  at  Beaver  Dam  Station,  Va.,  by  a  minie  ball,  which  necessitated 
his  confinement  in  a  hospital  for  six  weeks. 

After  his  discharge  from  the  service  at  Cloud's  Mills,  Va.,  in  July, 

1865,  the  war  being  ended,  he  returned  to  Dansville  and  accepted  a 
position  as  clerk  in  the  clothing  store  of  Fritz  Durr,  with  whom  he 
remained  until  the  year  1872.  Mr.  Kramer  next  formed  a  co-partner- 
ship with  his  brother  Fred,  and  established  a  clothing  business  in  the 
Krein  Block,  under  the  firm  name  of  Kramer  Brothers,  said  firm  re- 
maining in  business  until  1886.  William  Kramer  then  purchased  his 
brother's  interest,   and  continued  the  business  until  1893,  when  he 


173  BIOGRAPHICAL 

admitted  his  son  Fred  as  a  partner,  the  firm  being  now  William 
Kramer  &  Son.  They  carry  a  full  line  of  ready-made  clothing  and 
gentlemen's  furnishings.  A  custom  tailoring  department  under  the 
management  of  his  son  Carl,  is  a  great  addition  to  the  business. 

Mr.  Kramer  married  Margaret  Huber,  a  native  of  Dansville,  whose 
father  was  a  farmer  and  came  to  western  New  York  many  years  ago 
from  Germany.  Mrs.  Kramer  is  the  mother  of  six  children ;  namely, 
Mary  E.,  who  married  Edward  C.  Schwingel,  a  manufacturer  of  the 
Red  Star  Boiler  Compound,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  who  have  two  children 
named  Margaret  and  Mildred;  Fred  L.,  Carl  B.,  William  and  P'lorine. 
William  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  a  twin  sister  at  the  age  of 
three  months.  The  children  were  educated  at  the  public  schools  of 
Dansville.  Fred  attended  also  the  Normal  school  at  Geneseo,  and 
both  he  and  Carl  B.  attended  the  business  college  in  Rochester. 

Mr.  Kramer  is  a  member  of  Phoenix  Lodge,  No.  115,  F.  &  A. 
M. ,  and  of  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  94,  Canaseraa-a  Lodge,  No.  123, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  has  been  Commander  of  Seth  N. 
Hedges  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  officer  of  the  day. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  several  years, 
and  president  of  the  Merchants  and  Farmers  National  Bank;  he  has 
served  the  public  in  various  stations,  from  corporation  clerk  to  super- 
visor. Having  been  identified  with  many  matters  of  interest  to  the 
general  community,  besides  being  closely  attentive  to  his  own  private 
affairs,  he  has  faithfully  discharged  the  duties  of  the  different  positions 
of  public  trust  which  have  fallen  to  him,  with  credit  both  to  himself 
and  to  his  constituents. 

CHarles  tSHepard. 

Charles  Shepard,  leading  a  quiet,  unobstrusive  life  and  not  widely 
known  beyond  western  New  York,  was  yet  an  interesting  and  instruct- 
ive character.  He  was  born  in  Dansville  on  March  IS,  1818;  he 
died  in  Seattle,  Washington,  on  September  7,  1899.  All  his  life 
Dansville  was  his  home,  except  a  few  years  in  his  boyhood,  when  his 
widowed  mother  moved  to  Canandaigua,  then  the  nearest  seat  of 
anything  higher  than  a  common  school,  to  educate  her  children,  and 
the  last  year  of  his  life  which  he  with  his  wife  and  daughter  spent 
in  Seattle  where  his  sons  reside.  Mr.  Shepard's  ancestry  was  of 
Puritan  New  England  stock  on  both  sides.  Ralph  Shepard,  his 
earliest  ancestor  in  this  country,  migrated  from  London  to  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  in  1635.  When  western  New  York  was  a  wilderness, 
Joshua  Shepard  settled  in  the  frontier  hamlet  of  Dansville,  and  a  little 
later  in  1817  married  Elizabeth  Hurlbut.  Her  forbears  had  long 
lived  in  and  near  Saybrook,  Connecticut.  Her  father  was  a  Revo- 
lutionary soldier,  and  some  of  his  relatives  were  victims  of  the 
"Wyoming  Massacre. "  Charles  was  the  eldest  child  of  this  pioneer 
couple.  He  received  an  academic  education,  and  read  law  in  the 
office  of  the  late  Judge  Isaac  L.  Endress  of  Dansville,  where  he  is  said 
to  have  become  remarkably  proficient  as  a  legal  draughtsman,  but  he 
never  practiced  law.     The  management  of  the  family's   and   his  own 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


173 


property,  the  duties  of  local  agent  for  several  of  the  older  and  leading 
fire  insurance  companies  for  many  years — extending  to  forty-five 
years  for  the  Aetna  and  nearly  as  long  for  the  Home  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  New  York — and  the  discharge  of  public  trusts  or  commissions 
of  a  non-political  nature  on  a  number  of  occasions,  filled  a  large  part 
of  his  active  life.  In  his  earlier  manhood,  although  never  holding 
important  public  ofifice,  he  took  an  active  part  in  politics,  being  a  most 
ardent  supporter  of  Henry  Clay,  and  enjoying  that  great  statesman's 
personal  acquaintance.     Among  his  reminiscences  of  those  times  was 

an  account  he  used  to  give  of 
hearing  short  speeches  by  Web- 
ster, Clay  and  Calhoun  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  all  on  the 
same  day — March  8,  1850,  the  day 
after  Webster's  famous  speech 
which  so  alienated  his  Northern 
anti-slavery  adherents.  Mr.  Shep- 
ard  was  one  of  the  earliest,  warm- 
est and  most  energetic  advocates 
of  a  railroad  to  Dansville,  and  was 
the  president  of  the  Erie  &  Gene- 
see Valley  Railroad  Company  from 
its  organization  and  for  many 
years.  Its  line  from  Dansville  to 
Geneseo  was  built  not  under  con- 
tract but  by  the  company  under 
his  personal  oversight,  within  the 
estimates,  and  at  a  remarkably 
low  cost,  even  for  a  level  line,  of 
$3,000  a  mile  for  the  roadbed. 
When  the  movement  for  a  Sem- 
inary at  Dansville  took  shape  he 
was  the  building  committee  and 
erected  a  substantial  and  worthy  building  at  low  cost.  In  these  and  in 
minor  instances,  whenever  he  was  called  on  to  aid  or  promote  public 
interests,  by  purse  or  personal  service,  he  illustrated  the  idea  that  not 
only  political  office  but  the  time  and  means  of  the  citizen  constitute 
a  public  trust  to  be  used  in  due  measure  for  the  public  good. 

In  184f)  Mr.  Shepard  married  Katherine  Rochester  Colman,  a  grand- 
daughter of  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester,  the  founder  of  the  beautiful 
city  of  that  name,  who  had  also  at  an  earlier  date  been  a  resident  of 
Dansville  contemporary  with  Joshua  Shepard.  Mrs.  Shepard  died  at 
Seattle  May  20,  1902,  and  her  remains  with  those  of  her  husband  were 
buried  in  Dansville  May  27.  Col.  Rochester  built  the  original  mill  on 
the  site  of  Readshaw's  mill  and  an  old  stone  structure  now  standing 
opposite  it  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  Dansville,  is  a  part  of  his 
house.  It  is  probably  the  oldest  building  here;  and  Mr.  Shepard's 
home  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Ferine  streets,  built  by  his  father  in 
1823  is,  except  one  or  two,  the  oldest  complete  and  inhabited  house  in 
the  village. 

The  keynote  of  Charles  Shepard's  character,  both  morally  and  men- 
tally, was  truth.     By  this  is  not  meant  simply  the  trait  of  verbal  truth- 


CHARLES   SHEPARD 


174 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


fulness — the  virtue  of  not  lying,  valuable  though  that  is — but  the 
subtler  and  deeper  quality  of  innate  fidelity  to  realities.  He  was  the 
soul  of  honor,  and  would  not  countenance  the  shadow  of  a  subterfuge 
or  of  a  divided  interest  whereout  he  or  anyone  could  draw  a  private 
benefit  in  any  of  the  public  enterprises  or  constructions  he  was  con- 
cerned in.  In  the  same  way  he  was  exact  and  just  almost  to  a  fault 
in  dealing  with  employes  or  tradesmen.  He  abhorred  shams  and  pre- 
tences in  all  things  and  persons.  That  was  what  made  him  so  excel- 
lent a  builder,  for  he  would  not  stand  any  of  the  hollow  frauds,  the  fair 
deceitful  shows  that  hide  faulty  and  dangerous  constructions  of  a  cer- 
tain kind  of  buildings.  And  in  this  way  his  work  as  a  builder  was 
typical  of  himself.  His  acts,  opinions  and  words  might  be  right  or 
wrong,  but  they  were  the  same  inside  as  out — they  showed  for  what 
they  were  and  they  were  what  they  showed. 


THE   SHEPARD   HOMESTEAD 


Without  the  Puritan's  narrow  religiosity,  he  had  inherited  his  strict 
morality  and  somewhat  of  his  intolerance  of  other  standards  or  no 
standards.  He  had  nothing  of  the  easy  acquiescence,  the  more  cos- 
mopolitan temper  which,  while  living  by  a  correct  enough  rule  itself, 
is  not  greatly  concerned  at  the  moral  laxity  of  others.  And  one  saw 
something  of  the  stern  old  Roman  in  him  too,  when  in  vehement  out- 
bursts he  would  pour  out  his  hot  indignation  on  the  frauds  and  wrongs 
from  which  individuals  or  the  community  or  nation  suffered.  His 
hatred  of  sham  went  so  far  as  to  make  him  suspicious  or  cynical  to- 
wards acts  or  courses  which  proper  enough  within  due  limits  might  de- 
generate into  self-seeking  humbug.  But  this  was  only  the  defect  of 
his  quality;  and  something  must  be  forgiven  to  one  of  a  generation 
to  which  Carlyle  had  preached  a  holy  war  against  the  Devil  of  Cant 
and  Sham. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  175 

The  mental  equivalent  of  moral  veracity  is  accuracy,  and  Charles 
Shepard  had  a  most  accurate  mind.  Nature  endowed  him  with  a  re- 
markable memory — quick,  tenacious,  ready.  In  a  school  contest  he 
once  learned  in  one  day  the  Latin  text  of  one  entire  book — about  800 
lines — of  Virgil  by  heart.  liis  mother  was  almost  as  remarkable.  It 
was  very  interesting  to  hear  this  bright  old  lady  recite  to  her  grand- 
children long  passages  from  the  English  "classics" — the  classics  which 
nobody  now  reads.  She  was  brought  up  in  a  frontier  forest,  where 
Indian  trails  were  the  roads;  but  she  fed  on  Pope,  Dryden,  Scott, 
Cowper,  Milton,  Shakespeare,  the  Spectator,  the  Bible — the  best  prose 
and  best  poetry  ever  written  in  the  English  tongue.  So  her  son  came 
naturally  by  his  memory.  But  such  powers,  however  striking  as 
proofs  of  the  stretch  of  the  human  inind,  are  of  little  worth  to  the  pos- 
sessor or  to  others  unless  put  to  good  use.  A  vast  warehouse  may  be 
filled  with  rubbish  as  well  as  with  costly  silks. 

Mr.  Shepard  had,  however,  not  only  a  capacious  but  a  well-stored 
mind.  Like  his  mother  he  had  drunk  of  all  the  "Wells  of  English 
undefiled. "  He  retained  through  his  life  a  cultivated  love  for  the  an- 
cient classics  and  the  literature  sprung  from  them.  He  was,  too, 
very    fond  of   the  modern  romantic    literature  in  fiction    and    poetry. 

A  constant  and  omnivorous  reader,  except  in  the  fields  of  science 
and  art,  he  became  literally  a  "walking  encyclopaedia;"  and  so  well 
assimilated  had  been  his  reading  that  he  could  turn  at  will  to  the 
page  in  his  memory  where  any  desired  facts  were  inscribed.  His 
knowledge  of  local  history — dates,  places,  events  and  persons — was  so 
full  and  precise  that  he  was  the  unappealable  resort  on  mooted  points. 
Never  travelling  abroad,  he  had  yet  roamed  over  the  world  in  his 
library  and  was  fond  of  books  of  travel.  His  mind  being  of  the  mathe- 
matical type,  he  had  a  very  wide  and  exact  acquaintance  with  geog- 
raphy, in  names,  distances,  area,  population,  and  even  famous  build- 
ings in  the  old  world.  Reading  seemed  to  have  depicted  mental 
maps  or  pictures  of  such  spots,  so  that  he  was  often  asked  if  he  had 
not  been  in  Europe.  In  the  practical  branches  of  knowledge  pertain- 
ing to  finance,  transportation  and  manufactures,  and  notably  in  their 
statistics,  he  was  well  versed;  and  his  sound  judgment,  as  correct  in 
the  mart  as  in  the  library,  made  his  advice  valuable  and  much  sought 
after. 

An  exactness  in  his  own  mental  processes  which  became  impatient 
with  others'  vagueness  and  mistakes  and  merciless  in  probing  the 
weak  spots  of  an  opponent's  logic,  was  saved  from  declining  into 
pedantry  by  the  salt  of  humor.  Mr.  Shepard  had  a  ready  wit,  a 
keen  sense  of  the  comic  side  of  life,  and  an  enormous  fund  of  "good 
stories"  and  of  the  humorous  in  literature — especially  of  odd  epitaphs 
and  quaint  tales  picked  up  in  the  by-paths  of  reading;  and  being  a 
good  raconteur  his  conversation  was  very  entertaining.  He  was  ever 
ready,  without  conceit  or  effort  at  display,  to  bring  forth  from  his 
treasury  things  both  "new  and  old,"  both  "grave  and  gay,"  for 
recreation,  counsel  or  instruction,  in  social  converse  or  deep  debate. 
Such  a  man,  while  leaving  nothing  of  permanent  record,  has  yet  not 
lived  in  vain,  because  his  noble  integrity, his  broad  and  sound  scholar- 
ship have  improved  and  enlightened  his  community  and  left  the  world 
better  than  he  found  it. 


176  BIOGRAPHICAL 

CHarles  £.  and  THotnas  R..  tSHepard 

Charles  E.  Shepard,  oldest  son  of  Charles  Shepard,  was  born  in 
Dansville  March  14,  1848,  and  was  educated  at  Dansville,  Canandaigua 
and  Yale,  graduating  from  this  university  in  1870.  He  then  studied 
law,  and  after  admission  to  the  bar  practiced  at  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis., 
from  1872  to  1883;  at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  from  1883  to  1891,  and  then 
moved  to  Seattle,  Wash.,  where  he  still  resides  and  has  become  a 
prominent  and  influential  citizen.  In  the  Democratic  district  of 
Fond  du  Lac,  Mr.  Shepard  was  elected  as  a  Republican  to  the  lower 
house  of  the  Wisconsin  legislature,  and  served  during  the  term  of  1881- 
83.  In  Seattle  he  has  been  Library  Commissioner  of  the  city  several 
years,  and  is  now  in  his  second  term.  In  1883  he  compiled  with  his 
brother,  Thomas  R.  Shepard,  "vShepard's  Wisconsin  Digest."  He 
inherited  the  literary  tastes  of  his  father,  which,  however,  reach  out 
into  the  wider  range  and  variety  of  literature  to  which  a  thorough 
university  training  is  the  natural  introduction.  One  of  his  published 
addresses  is  on  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall, which  was  delivered  before 
the  faculty  and  students  of  the  University  of  Washington  Feb.  4,  1901, 
and  is  an  admirable  appreciation  of  that  great  jurist.  Another  able 
paper  on  "Limitations  of  Municipal  Indebtedness"  was  read  by  him 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Washington  State  Bar  association  July 
10,  1900.  No  intelligent  man  can  peruse  these  publications  without 
recognizing  the  intellectual  strength  and  discrimination  of  their  author. 
Withal  he  is  a  very  busy  lawyer,  and  one  whose  counsel  in  difficult 
questions  and  cases  is  always  worth  seeking.  He  married  Alice  M. 
Galloway  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  in  1881. 

His  brother,  Thomas  R.  Shepard,  was  born  in  Dansville  July  31, 
1852,  and  has  practiced  law  since  1874.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Burke,  Shepard  &  McGilvra,  a  leading  law  firm  of  Seattle,  and 
has  won  distinction  as  a  trial  lawyer  and  advocate.  He  married  Car- 
oline E.  McCartney  of  Dansville  in  1879,  and  she  died  in  1893.  He 
has  recently  married  again. 

Jaxnes  Caleb  Jackson 

James  Caleb  Jackson  was  born  at  Manlius,  Onondaga  county, 
New  York,  March  28,  1811.  He  came  from  patriotic  New  England 
lineage.  On  both  sides  he  was  descended  from  Revolutionary  soldiers. 
His  grandfather  was  Col.  Giles  Jackson  who  was  chief  of  staff  under 
Gen.  Gates  at  the  Battle  of  Saratoga  and  who  had  the  honor  of  writing 
out  and  engrossing  the  articles  of  capitulation  of  Gen.  Burgoyne  and 
his  army. 

The  mother  of  Dr.  Jackson  was  Mary  Ann  Elderkin,  descended 
from  Col.  Jedediah  Elderkin  of  Windham,  Conn.,  a  man  of  more  than 
local  renown  for  his  patriotism  and  military  services  in  the  war  for 
American  Independence.  His  name  is  celebrated  in  the  ballad  of  "The 
Flight  of  the  Frogs,"  familiar  to  all  students  of  Connecticut  history. 

Dr.  Jackson  was  the  son  of  Dr.  James  Jackson,  a  successful  practi- 
tioner of  medicine  and  surgery  in  Manlius  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try.    He  served  also  as  post  surgeon  and  physician   at    Sacket    Har- 


JAMES   CALEB  JACKSON 


178  BIOGRAPHICAL 

bor  in  the  war  of  1812.  It  was  the  desire  of  Dr.  Jackson's  father  that 
he  should  become  a  physician,  but  his  mother's  hope  and  prayer  was 
that  he  might  go  as  a  missionary  to  the  heathen.  Frequently,  when 
alluding  to  his  mother's  prayers  for  him,  he  maintained  that  they  were 
answered,  although  not  in  the  sense  she  anticipated.  He  was  a  stu- 
dious lad  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  was  well  advanced  in  Latin 
and  Greek.  His  school  education  was  completed  at  the  Polytechnic 
Institute  at  Troy,  N.  Y. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  married  Lucretia  Edgerton  Brewster,  a 
lineal  descendant  of  Elder  William  Brewster,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
colonists  who  came  over  to  this  country  in  the  Mayflower.  She  was 
a  woman  of  rare  Christian  character  and  in  every  way  worthy  of  her 
noble  ancestry.  The  first  years  of  their  married  life  were  spent  on  a 
farm  in  Mexico,  New  York.  But  the  health  of  the  young  farmer 
proved  unequal  to  the  demands  made  upon  it.  His  attention  was  nat- 
urally called  to  the  field  of  medicine  by  the  necessities  of  his  own  case, 
and  thus  early  he  began  to  read  and  study  medical  works  at  home. 

He  was  a  public  spirited  man  and  took  part  in  all  the  local  affairs  of 
the  community.  In  this  way  was  cultivated  a  natural  gift  for  public 
speaking.  While  yet  in  his  teens  he  espoused  the  temperance  cause 
and  frequently  spoke  at  the  temperance  meetings  held  in  his  county 
and  vicinity.  The  anti-slavery  question  which  had  begun  to  agitate 
the  country  interested  him  greatly  and  he  became  a  prominent  speaker 
in  that  cause.  He  was  thus  brought  in  contact  with  Gerrit  Smith, 
through  whose  influence  he  entered  the  lecture  field  as  agent  of  the 
New  York  State  Anti-Slavery  Society.  During  the  ten  following  years 
he  successfully  held  the  positions  of  agent  of  the  New  York  State  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  agent  of  the  Massachusetts  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
corresponding  secretary  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  editor 
of  the  Madison  Co.  Abolitionist,  and  finally  editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Albany  Patriot.  In  1846  his  health  failing,  he  sold  his  paper  and 
returned  to  his  home  in  Peterboro,  N.  Y.,  where  he  had  settled  in 
order  to  be  near  his  friend,  Gerrit  Smith. 

His  continued  ill  health  induced  him,  all  other  treatment  failing,  to 
place  himself  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Silas  O.  Gleason  at  his  institution 
(water  cure)  at  Cuba,  N.  Y.,  in  the  fall  of  1846.  The  improvement 
in  his  own  health,  and  the  enthusiasm  for  the  water  cure  treatment  as 
taught  by  Priessnitz,  the  great  German  medical  reformer,  led  him  to 
form  a  partnership  with  Dr.  Gleason  and  open  a  water  cure  at  Glen 
Haven,  as  he  called  his  settlement,  situated  at  the  head  of  Skaneateles 
lake  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.  At  the  end  of  three  years  Dr.  Jackson 
purchased  Dr.  Gleason's  interest  and  became  the  proprietor  and  phy- 
sician of  the  institution. .  Pie  took  his  medical  degree  from  the  Medi- 
cal College  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y. ,  and  began  the  career  in  which  he  be- 
came so  renowned  and  successful.  In  1858  he  removed  to  Dansville, 
N.  Y.,  and  on  the  beautiful  wooded  "Hillside"  looking  westward  over 
the  picturesque  valley  and  the  distant  hills  encircling  it,  he  founded 
The  Jackson  Sanatorium  (giving  it  at  that  time  the  name  of  "Our 
Home  on  the  Hillside")  where  his  field  of  work  was  widely  extended. 
The  public  opening  of  the  Hillside  Home  took  place  on  October  1, 
1858,  and  since  that  time  the  first  of  October  has  been  celebrated  as 
"Founder's  Day."     Dr.  Jackson  was  always  an  enthusiastic  promoter 


180  BIOGRAPHICAL 

of  these  anniversary  celebrations,  and  many  old-tiiDe  members  of  the 
Hillside  family  will  never  forget  some  of  these  festive  occasions  at 
which  he  was  the  central  figure. 

The  founding  and  developing  of  this  institution  culminated  Dr.  Jack- 
son's public  work.  His  remarkable  powers  of  mind  and  spirit  were 
devoted  to  the  work  thus  inaugurated  and  were  freely  spent  in  the  cause 
of  health  reform,  which  to  him  had  become  a  sacred  cause.  As  phy- 
sician, as  lecturer,  as  editor  of  his  health  journal,  "The  Laws  of  Life," 
he  vigorously  prosecuted  his  mission  and  eloquently  preached  the  gos- 
pel of  health.  In  his  methods  of  treatment  he  was  opposed  to  the 
prevalent  use  of  drugs.  He  sought  by  initiating  normal  habits  of  life 
and  conformity  to  the  laws  of  health  to  remove  the  causes  of  sickness. 
He  placed  great  value  upon  mental  and  moral  influences  in  the  culti- 
vation of  courage,  hope,  cheerfulness,  in  strengthening  the  will  and 
banishing  doubt  and  despondency,  as  well  as  upon  prudence  in  eating, 
drinking  and  dressing  and  in  the  observance  of  all  physiological  laws. 
He  fully  believed  in  the  power  of  the  mental  and  spiritual  forces  to 
restore  and  preserve  health,  and  made  these  forces  constantly  available 
in  his  professional  work.  The  term  "psycho  hygiene"  which  he  early 
applied  to  his  methods  of  treatment,  fitly  expresses  the  idea  he  so  suc- 
cessfully worked  out  in  his  practice. 

In  1879  Dr.  Jackson's  failing  health  obliged  him  to  resign  the  re- 
sponsible management  of  the  Sanatorium  to  his  son.  Dr.  James  H. 
Jackson,  although  he  continued  to  hold  quite  active  relationship  to  it 
until  1883,  often  counseling  with  the  physicians  and  lecturing  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Sanatorium.  From  1886  to  1895  Dr.  Jackson  lived  in 
North  Adams,  Massachusetts,  with  certain  members  of  his  family. 
Here  he  was  free  from  care  and  intrusion.  He  wrote  for  the  Laws  of 
Life  and  Journal  of  Health,  and  kept  up  a  voluminous  correspondence 
with  old  friends,  patients  and  professional  and  public  men.  He  was 
interested  in  all  the  great  political  questions  and  other  movements  in 
the  world  of  thought  and  trade.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  State 
convention  of  the  Republican  party  and  a  stalwart  member  of  it  till 
the  day  of  his  death.  He  frequently  made  visits  to  his  old  home  in 
Dansville,  renewing  the  scenes  of  his  busy  and  successful  life  and  cul- 
tivating his  oldtime  friendships.  On  one  of  these  visits  he  was  taken 
ill,  and  after  a  three  weeks'  illness  died  on  July  11,  1895,  in  his  eighty- 
fifth  year. 

This  remarkable  man  will  be  long  remembered  for  the  force  of  his 
character,  his  far  seeing  qualities  and  generous  dealings  as  a  business 
man,  his  deep  religious  convictions  and  enthusiasm,  his  oratorical 
ability  of  the  first  order,  his  devotion  to  the  principles  of  living  which 
he  cherished;  his  love  for  and  loyalty  to  Dansville  as  a  place  of  resi- 
dence, and  as  a  natural  sanitarium,  as  well  as  for  the  wide  publicity 
his  reputation  and  institution  gave  the  town. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER  NOYES 


BIOGRAPHICAL  183 

Daniel  W.  Noyes 

Daniel  Webster  Noyes,  whose  name  was  associated  with  the  practice 
of  law  in  Livingston  county  for  many  years,  came  of  good  New  Eng- 
land stock.  He  was  born  in  Winchendon,  Massachusetts,  on  the  30th 
day  of  September,  1824.  His  father  was  Samuel  Noyes,  an  architect 
by  profession,  and  a  lineal  descendant  of  Nicholas  Noyes,  who  came 
from  Choulderton  in  Wiltshire  in  the  brig  Elizabeth  in  1634,  and  his 
family  was  originally  of  Norman  descent.  The  mother  of  Daniel  W. 
Noyes  was  Elizabeth  Wales  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  a  daughter  of 
Captain  Jacob  Wales,  a  staunch  patriot  who  served  in  the  revolution- 
ary war  on  Washington's  staff.  Soon  after  the  birth  of  Daniel  W., 
their  youngest  child,  Samuel  Noyes  and  his  wife  removed  to  Edin- 
burg,  Saratoga  county,  New  York,  where  the  boy  was  brought  up  on 
a  farm. 

As  a  youth  he  went  first  to  Galway  academy  and  then  to  the  Am- 
sterdam academy,  and  in  these  two  schools  he  received  his  fitting  for 
Union  college,  which  was  then,  with  Doctor  Nott  at  its  head,  in  its 
prime.  From  this  institution  he  graduated  with  honor  in  the  year 
1847,  and  afterward  pursued  his  legal  studies  in  the  law  offices  of  Judge 
Belding  at  Amsterdam  and  Nicholas  Hill  at  Albany,  being  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1849.  In  the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Frances  C. 
Baldwin,  then  of  Owasco,  New  York,  and  shortly  thereafter  located  in 
Dansville,  Livingston  county,  as  a  partner  of  Benjamin  C.  Cook. 
This  association  lasted  but  a  short  time,  and  during  the  next  dozen 
years  he  was  successively  in  partnership  with  Joseph  W  Smith  and 
Judge  vSolomon  Hubbard.  The  old  firm  of  Hubbard  &  Noyes  contin- 
ued until  about  the  time  of  Mr.  Hubbard's  election  as  county  judge 
of  Livingston  county  which  caused  his  removal  to  the  village  of  Geneseo. 

Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  war  ]\Ir.  Noyes  formed  a  copartner- 
ship with  Major  Seth  N.  Hedges,  which  existed  almost  continuously 
down  to  the  year  1878,  when  Mr.  Noyes  was  appointed  county  judge 
of  Livingston  county  by  Governor  Robinson,  to  fill  the  vacancy  in 
that  office  caused  by  the  death  of  Judge  Samuel  D.  Faulkner.  During 
his  copartnership  with  Major  Hedges,  in  1875,  he  was  elected  district  at- 
torney of  his  count}',  running  upon  the  Democratic  ticket  and  overcom- 
ing the  usually  large  Republican  majority.  His  conduct  of  that  office 
won  for  him  many  friends  in  the  county  and  materially  increased  his 
already  wide  reputation  as  a  trial  lawyer. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  office  of  county  judge  on  the  1st  day 
of  January,  1879,  he  associated  his  son,  Fred  W.  Noyes,  as  a  partner 
with  himself  under  the  firm  name  of  Noyes  &  Noyes.  This  firm  con- 
tinued to  exist  until  the  death  of  the  father  in  1888. 

In  his  practice  of  the  law  Mr.  Noyes  had  charge  of  many  important 
and  complicated  cases,  both  in  his  own  county  and  the  surrounding 
counties,  and  his  fame  as  a  trial  lawyer  and  a  faithful,  industrious 
student  of  the  law  was  far  more  than  a  local  one.  He  held  no  official 
positions  which  were  not  in  line  with  his  own  professional  work,  and 
his  time  and  energies  were  always  devoted  to  his  chosen  profession,  in 
which  his  tireless  industry  was  such  as  to  impress  one  with  the  idea 
that  his  great  ambition  was  to  be  a  good  lawyer  and  a  safe  counselor. 


184 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


Frederick  W^.  Noyes 


Frederick  W.  Noyes  is  the  only 
son  of  Daniel  W.  Noyes.  He 
was  born  in  Dansville  in  1852, 
and  his  home  has  always  been 
here.  He  was  educated  in  the 
Dansville  seminary,  the  River- 
view  Military  academy  at  Pough- 
keepsie  and  Cornell  university, 
where  he  belonged  to  the  class  of 
'76,  and  received  the  degree  of 
Ph.  D.  He  was  one  of  the  six 
members  of  his  class  elected  a 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  by  the  faculty, 
and  before  this  one  of  the  six  se- 
lected to  compete  for  the  Wood- 
ford prize  oration.  His  college 
secret  society  was  the  Psi  Upsi- 
lon,  into  which  he  was  initiated 
at  Union  college,  and  he  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Cornell 
chapter,  now  very  strong.  After 
leaving  college  he  studied  law  in 
the  office  of  Noyes  &  Hedges, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
Rochester  in  October,  1878.  On 
the  first  of  January,  1879,  he  be- 
came a  law  partner  of  his  father,  and  since  his  father's  death  in  1888 
has  continued  the  practice  alone.  Governor  Flower  appointed  him 
district  attorney  for  Livingston  county  in  1894  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  of  Lubert  O.  Reed.  He  ran  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  the  next  fall  for  the  same  office,  and  was  defeated  by  William 
Carter,  and  in  1896  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  county  judge 
and  defeated  by  Judge  Coyne,  Republican,  both  of  which  results  he 
expected  in  so  strong  a  Republican  county.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Dansville  board  of  education  for  about  fifteen  years.  He 
is  a  director  of  the  Citizens  bank  and  president  of  the  George  Sweet 
Manufacturing  company,  and  is  also  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  Mr.  Noyes  is  and  has  been  absorbed  in  the  labors 
of  an  extensive  and  lucrative  law  practice,  and  in  this  is  the  worthy 
successor  of  his  very  able  father.  He  is  a  ready,  forceful  and  eloquent 
public  speaker.  He  has  a  liking  for  and  appreciation  of  the  best  Eng- 
lish literature,  and  has  also  been  a  careful  student  of  German  litera- 
ture, regarding  which  his  critical  knowledge  is  uncommon  for  a  busy 
American  lawyer,  as  shown  in  a  lecture  on  the  subject  which  he  has 
once  or  twice  delivered.  And  is  it  not  true  that  a  lawyer  is  likely  to 
be  more  successful  in  his  practice  if  he  buoys  up  his  mind  occasionally 
by  excursions  into  the  rich  field  of  letters? 

In  the  year   1881   Mr.  Noyes  was   married    at    Dansville,  N.  Y.,  to 
Miss  Emma  Catherine  Hartman,  a  daughter  of  the  late  William  Hart- 


TREDERICK  W.   NOYES 


BIOGRAPHICAL  185 

man  of  this  place.  Mrs.  Noyes  graduated  at  Vassar  college  with  the 
class  of  1880  and  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  was  a  teacher  of  vocal 
music  at  Vassar.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Noyes  have  three  children,  Nicholas 
Hartman  Noyes,  who  graduated  at  Lawrenceville,  N.  J.,  Preparatory 


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RESIDENCE,    F.   W.   NOYES 

School  in  June,  19U2,  and  enters  Cornell  university  this  fall,  Frederick 
Jansen  Noyes  and  Katherine  Frances  Noyes,  both  of  whom  are  at 
present  students  at  Dansville  High  school. 

William  T.  Spinning^ 

William  T.  Spinning  was  one  of  the  leading  merchants  and  sterling 
characters  of  Dansville.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Auburn,  N.  Y., 
September  20,  1820,  and  moved  from  there  to  West  Sparta  in  1847. 
He  opened  a  general  country  store  in  Kysorville,  and  after  doing  busi- 
ness in  that  hamlet  a  few  years,  came  to  Dansville,  where  he  engaged 
first  in  the  dry  goods  and  then  in  the  grocery  trade.  Reverses  came, 
and  for  some  time  he  was  employed  in  the  stores  of  the  Dyer  Brothers 
and  Fielder  &  Olney,  but  commenced  business  for  himself  again  in 
1876,  with  his  son,  William  A.  Spinning,  and  Nicholas  Uhl  as  part- 
ners, the  firm  name  being  Spinning,  Uhl  &  Co.  It  prospered  from 
the  beginning,  and  the  business  grew  continually.  Every  citizen 
knew  that  any  business  of  which  W.  T.  Spinning  was  the  head  would 
be  honestly  and  ably  conducted,  without  any  tricks  of  trade  or  false 
representations,  and  with  an  intelligent  and  thorough  attention  to 
every  essential  detail.  The  firm  knew  what  and  how  to  buy  and  how 
to  sell  as  few  country  merchants  know,  and  their  daily  throngs  of 
customers    indicated    that   the  people  believed  it.     When  William  T. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


187 


Spinning  died  there  were  not  many  village  stores  which  could  show 
so  laige  and  desirable  a  variety  of  goods,  or  books  which  would  de- 
monstrate so  large  and  profitable  a  trade.  So  keen  was  his  sense  of 
honesty  and  so  exact  his  business  methods  that  he  never  used  for  per- 
sonal purposes  so  much  as  one  of  the  firm's  postage  stamps  without 
placing  its  equivalent  in  the  drawer. 

When  the  Merchants  and  Farmers  National  bank  was  started  in 
1893,  Mr.  Spinning  was  elected  its  president,  and  filled  the  position 
until  his  death — another  proof  of  the  confidence  which  he  inspired. 

_He  joined  the  Presbyterian  church  early  in  life,  and  remained  a 
faithful,  consistent  and  useful,  although  never  a  demonstrative,  mem- 
ber. He  applied  his  religious  principles  to  all  his  practice,  and  no 
one  thought  of  accusinghim  of  the  religious  hypocrisy  which  scoffers  oc- 


W.   T.   SPINNING,   RESIDENCE 


casionally  insinuate  or  charge  against  not  a  few  church  members. 
For  many  years  he  was  one  of  the  elders  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  regular  in  attending  its  services.  He  was  never  obtrusive  in  his 
opinions  and  seldom  gave  advice  until  it  was  asked  for,  but  when  he 
expressed  his  views  they  were  worth  considering.  Retiring,  serious 
and  earnest  though  he  was,  he  had  a  genial  nature,  a  fine  sense  of  hu- 
mor, and  heartily  enjoyed  a  good  joke. 

Mr.  Spinning  was  married  in  Sparta  54  years  ago,  to  Sarah  Walker, 
who  is  still  living.  He  died  August  26,  1899,  and  if  he  had  lived  six 
days  longer  would  have  been  80  years  old.  The  very  large  attendance 
at  his  funeral  of  sorrowing  citizens  showed  how  generally  his  depar- 
ture was  mourned.  They  included  the  Odd  Fellows  in  a  body  of  Can- 
aseraga  Lodge,  of  which  he  had  been  a  member  since  1849,  and  in 
which  he  always  manifested  a  lively  interest. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


189 


JonatHan  B.  Morey 

Hon.  Jonathan  B.  Morey  was  born  in  Dansville,  Livingston  county, 
N.  Y,,  November  2(),  183().  His  grandfather,  Harcourt  Morey,  was 
a  native  and  farmer  of  Dutchess  county,  whence  he  went  to  Schoharie 
county  and  from  there  to  Dansville,  bringing  with  him  a  wife  and 
three  children,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneer  farmers  of  this  section. 
Purchasing  a  large  tract  of  timbered  land,  he  cleared  and  cultivated 
it,  and  in  the  course  of  time  erected  a  house  and  barn.  His  final  place 
of  residence  was  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania.  There  on  the  State  line 
he  kept  an  inn,  which  was  the  station  for  the  negroes  from  the  South 
who  were  fleeing  to  Canada.  ]\Ir.  Morey  was  a  Whig,  and  in  sympathy 
with  the  Abolitionists. 


RESIDENCE.     J.   B.   MOREY 


Milton  Morey,  son  of  Harcourt  and  father  of  Jonathan,  was  inured 
to  the  toils  of  a  farmer's  life  from  his  early  boyhood,  when  he  assisted 
in  the  heavy  task  of  clearing  away  the  dense  and  almost  impenetrable 
forest  growth.  But  his  father,  realizing  the  advantage  of  every  man's 
having  a  special  line  of  work  upon  which  to  rely  for  a  livelihood,  ap- 
prenticed the  boy  to  a  tanner,  that  he  might  become  one  of  the  hide 
and  leather  guild.  Young  Milton  Morey  applied  himself  diligently  to 
the  various  branches  of  the  trade,  in  due  time  becoming  both  skillful 
and  expeditious,  and  finally  purchased  the  tannery  which  occupied 
the  space  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Milton  streets  in  Dansville,  the 
last  named  street  being  so  called  in  honor  of  him.  He  remained  in 
the  business  a  number  of  years,  was  prominent  in  local  public  affairs, 
being  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  village,  and  was  held  in  high  es- 
teem throughout  the  county.  In  1855,  after  selling  his  tannery,  Mr. 
Morey  migrated  to  southern  Minnesota,  where  he  bought  a  large  tract 
of  timbered  land  twenty  miles  from  human  habitation,  and  for  thir- 
teen years  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade.  He  next  went  to  Yankton, 
and,  investing  in  land,  cleared  a  good  farm.  He  died  in  1886,  aged 
seventy-six  years. 


190  BIOGRAPHICAL 

Milton  Morey's  first  wife  was  Eva  Barnhart  of  Daiisville,  who  was 
of  German  parentage  and  was  of  a  family  of  three  children.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  died  in  1837,  leaving  one 
child,  Jonathan  B.  Morey,  the  subject  of  the  present  sketch.  Her 
father,  Frederick  Barnhart,  came  from  Germany.  He  was  a  well-read 
man  and  earned  his  living  as  a  shoemaker.  By  his  second  wife,  Eliza 
Ribbey,  Mr.  Morey  had  four  children — Priscilla,  Perrilla,  Permilla 
and  Daniel.  Mrs.  Eliza  Ribbey  Morey  and  the  children  Priscilla  and 
Daniel  are  dead. 

After  the  death  of  his  mother,  little  Jonathan,  then  an  infant  of 
ten  months,  was  taken  to  live  with  his  uncle,  Jonathan  Barnhart,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  1860.  The  best  educational  advantages  that 
the  vicinity  afforded  were  given  the  boy,  who  was  sent  to  the  district 
school  of  the  neighborhood  and  afterward  to  the  Normal  school  in 
Albany  in  1858.  He  began  teaching  when  he  was  seventeen,  and 
taught  in  the  same  district  school  four  terms,  proving  both  his  com- 
petency and  popularity,,  and  after  leaving  Albany  taught  in  Dansville 
for  two  years.  At  this  time  his  uncle  died,  and  the  farm  to  which  he 
fell  heir  now  claimed  his  attention.  In  1871  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  George  A.  Sweet,  in  the  nursery  business. 
Ten  years  later  Mr.  Morey  sold  out  his  interest  to  Mr.  Sweet,  and 
then  was  established  the  nursery  firm  of  J.  B.  Morey  &  Son,  who  are 
among  the  largest  dealers  in  trees  in  this  part  of  the  State,  and  have 
one  of  the  finest  places  on  Main  street,  the  father  owning  also  another 
farm  in  this  locality.  Mr.  J.  B.  Morey's  influence  is  felt  in  many  di- 
rections, and  he  has  been  connected  with  both  local  and  national  poli- 
tics. He  was  the  chief  mover  in  creating  Washington  park — the  firm 
of  Sweet  &  Morey  furnishing  all  the  trees — while  he,  personally,  paid 
for  and  superintended  the  grading  and  planting.  He  was  also  active 
in  the  work  of  raising  money  for  the  soldiers'  monument  and  provid- 
ed for  its  location,  inscriptions  and  the  arrangement  of  its  surround- 
ings. The  first  railroad  and  the'  first  system  of  water  works  were 
urged  to  completion  by  him.  In  his  political  career  Mr.  Morey 
has  displayed  rare  tact  and  keen  perception,  and  is  known  far  and  near 
as  one  of  the  strongest  Republicans  in  this  section.  He  was  elected 
to  the  Assembly  of  1864  and  re-elected  in  1865,  when  there  were  two 
districts,  and  again  in  1872  and  1876.  He  has  been  president  of  the 
village  and  has  three  times  been  elected  trustee.  He  was  sent  as  a 
national  delegate  to  the  convention  that  nominated  General  Grant  for 
president  the  second  term. 

In  1861  Mr,  Morey  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Laura  Sweet,  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  Sidney  Sweet.  Mrs.  Morey  is  a  native  of  Michigan, 
but  came  with  her  father  to  Livingston  county  in  1841.  They  settled 
in  Sparta  where  her  father  bought  a  saw  mill.  He  was  afterwards  in- 
terested in  the  foundry  works  of  Livingston,  which  he  continued  until 
he  opened  an  exchange  office  known  as  "Sweet's."  This  he  conducted 
for  some  time,  and  then  founded  the  National  Bank  of  Dansville.  Mr. 
Sweet  left  New  York  State  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  and  be- 
came a  resident  of  Vineland,  N.  J.  After  three  trips  to  Europe,  he 
returned  to  Dansville  and  died  at  the  home  of  his  daughter.  Mrs. 
Morey  was  one  of  four  children  and  has  two  brothers,  George  A.  and 
Edwin  T.,  now  living.   Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


191 


Morey.  The  eldest  son,  Edwin  S.  Morey,  was  a  graduate  of  Hamil- 
ton college,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Bufifalo.  After  beginning 
to  practice  in  Dansville  he  went  to  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  where  he 
entered  the  law  office  of  an  uncle,  and  in  a  short  time  was  made  attor- 
ney for  the  Michigan  Trust  Company.  From  the  brilliant  career  which 
seemed  to  lie  before  him  he  was  suddenly  cut  off,  dying  of  typhoid 
fever  at  3]  years  of  age.  Fanny,  their  only  daughter,  is  the  wife  of 
H.  S.  Chase  of  Huntsville,  Ala.;  Jonathan  B.  Jr.,  a  graduate  of  the 
Normal  college  at  Rochester,  and  Sidney  S.,  are  with  their  father  in 
the  nursery  business. 

H.  W.  DeLong 


Though  a  native  of  Mon- 
roe county,  having  been 
born  at  Honeove  Falls  June 
23,  1851,  iir.  Herman 
Wells  DeLong  removed 
with  his  parents  to  this 
village  at  so  early  an  age 
that  he  is  generally  con- 
ceded to  be  a  native  of 
Dansville. 

His  father, George  Wells 
DeLong,  was  born  at  Rich- 
mond, Ontario  county,  N. 
Y.,  July  15,  1818,  and 
there  spent  the  first  six- 
teen years  of  his  life.  In 
1834  he  removed  to  Hon- 
eoye  Falls  and  in  1841 
married  Phebe  Ann  Os- 
trander,  a  native  of  that 
village,  who  still  retains 
much  of  her  youthful  vigor 
and  comeliness  at  the  age 
of  eighty-four,  having  cel- 
ebrated that  anniversary  of 
her  birth  on  the  10th  of  last  October.  For  over  forty  years  after  his 
arrival  in  Dansville  in  1855,  Mr.  George  W.  DeLong  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  sash,  doors  and  blinds.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Hall  jManufacturing  Company,  the  present  owners  of 
this  early  established  and  extensive  business.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  DeLong 
celebrated  the   sixtieth   anniversary  of  their  marriage  during  1901. 

Amid  the  refined  surroundings  of  his  home,  this  most  worthy  citi- 
zen is  enjoying  the  quiet  and  peace  to  which  in  his  later  years  every 
man  is  entitled  who  finishes  a  long,  active  career  of  usefulness  and 
profit.  Especially  is  a  competence  well  merited  when  it  is  bestowed 
on  one  whose  life  has  been  a  continued  round  of  persistent  efforts 
along  lines  of  honest  endeavor. 


H.   W.    DELONG 


192 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


Herman  W.  DeLong,  possessed  of  many  admirable  traits  of  mind 
and  character  inherited  from  a  long  line  of  worthy  ancestors,  early  ap- 
preciated the  necessity  of  a  liberal  education  to  future  success.  He 
followed  up  the  early  advantage  of  five  years  in  the  Dansville  semin- 
ary, then  in  the  hands  of  most  competent  instructors,  by  spending 
the  years  1868  and  1869  at  the  Canandaigua  academy,  a  most  excel- 
lent institution  of  learning.  He  varied  his  school  work  by  acquiring 
practical  business  ideas  under  the  competent  tutelage  of  A.  M.  Ander- 
son and  Ferine  Bros.,  proprietors  of  two  representative  drug  estab- 
lishments. At  the  comparatively  youthful  age  of  nineteen  he  became 
associated  with  F.  J.  Nelson  in  the  drug  business,  this  partnership 
being  in  force  until  1874,  when  Mr.  DeLong  sold  his  interest  to  Mr. 
Nelson  who  is  still  conducting  the  establishment.      His  natural  love  of 


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RESIDENCE,     M.   W.   DELONG 


literature  and  general  artistic  tastes  induced  him  to  embark  in  the 
book  and  stationery  business  on  September  10,  1875.  Unrivalled  in  a 
prosperous  field,  the  substantial  size  and  scope  of  his  business  is  the 
best  evidence  of  his  sagacity  and  acuteness  as  a  man  of  business  and 
his  power  to  win  and  hold  the  confidence  of  the  public. 

June  24,  1902,  Mr.  DeLong  assumed  the  editorship  of  the  Dansville 
Breeze,  on  the  retirement  from  the  business  of  J.  W.  Burgess. 

He  was  married  vSeptember  10,  1872,  to  Olive  Ellen  Thurber,  a  res- 
ident of  Springville,  Erie  county,  N.  Y.  Both  of  the  two  children, 
Isabel  and  Herman  W.,  reside  at  home.  On  the  personal  side  it  may 
be  said  of  Mr.  DeLong,  he  is  widely  respected  for  his  upright  charac- 
ter, genial  temperament  and  engaging  social  qualities. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  193 


Oscar  Woodruff 

Oscar  WoodruflF,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Dansville  Express,  a 
paper  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Democratic  party  and  the  people, 
is  prominent  in  the  social,  literary,  political  and  religious  life  of  Liv- 
ingston county,  of  which  he  is  a  native,  having  been  born  in  Geneseo, 
September  17,  1839.  He  comes  of  New  England  antecedents.  His 
paternal  grandfather,  Oliver  Woodruff,  an  honored  pioneer  settler  of 
this  county,  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Conn.,  in  1775,  and  when  nineteen 
years  old,  entered  Yale  College;  but  a  week  after  he  enlisted  in  the 
Continental  army.  Having  served  six  months,  he  re-enlisted,  and 
assisted  in  building  Fort  Lee  on  the  Hudson  River,  which  was  cap- 
tured by  the  British  a  month  after  it  was  finished.  He  and  others 
were  taken  prisoners,  confined  in  New  Bridewell,  New  York,  and  kept 
there  all  winter  with  but  little  food,  without  fire,  and  every  window 
in  the  building  broken.  An  exchange  of  prisoners  took  place  in  the 
spring;  and,  when  released,  thirty-three  out  of  the  thirty-five  men  in 
Mr.  Woodruff's  company  died  in  one  night  from  over  eating. 

Oliver  Woodruff  was  among  the  original  settlers  of  the  town  of 
Livonia,  having  emigrated  to  that  town  trom  Connecticut  nearly  a 
century  ago,  bringing  with  him  his  wife  and  seven  children.  He  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  heavily  timbered  land,  which  during  the  busy  years 
that  succeeded  he  converted  into  a  fine  and  productive  farm,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety-one  years  and 
eight  months,  December  24,  1845.  Of  his  seven  children  that  grew  to 
adult  life,  nearly  all  attained  advanced  age.  Sidney  who  married 
Oliver  D.  Stacy,  lived  to  be  ninety-seven  years  old,  and  retained  her 
faculties  to  the  last.  Hardy  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years. 
Bushrod  Washington,  the  father  of  Oscar,  attained  the  age  of  eighty- 
seven  years.  Ann  Sedgwick  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-seven.  Olive 
and  Birdsey  lived  to  the  age  of  three  score  and  ten  years.  Steptoe 
passed  away  when  but  sixty  years  old.  Of  this  family,  whose  lon- 
gevity is  noticeable,  all  of  the  sons  were  named  after  military  officers. 
The  mother  died  while  yet  in  the  prime  of  life,  at  fifty  years  of  age. 

Bushrod  W.  Woodruff  was  born  in  Livonia,  May  26,  1806;  and  un- 
til fourteen  years  old  he  assisted  in  clearing  and  improving  the  home 
farm.  Going  to  Geneseo,  he  entered  the  office  of  one  of  the  first 
papers  published  in  this  county,  and  learned  the  printer's  trade,  re- 
maining there  seven  years.  Beginning  his  career  as  a  journeyman 
printer,  he  worked  at  his  trade  and  as  a  publisher  in  Geneseo  and  ad- 
jacent towns,  continuing  at  his  occupation  until  1860,  when  he  retired 
from  active  pursuits.  He  departed  this  life  at  Dansville  in  1893,  aged 
eighty-seven  years.  He  had  great  force  of  character,  was  of  a  deeply 
religious  nature,  and  was  a  conscientious  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Mrs.  Woodruff's  maiden  name  was  Sally  A.  Rose;  and  she 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Bath,  of  which  her  father  James  Rose,  was  an 
early  settler.  She  reared  ten  of  the  thirteen  children  born  to  her  and 
her  husband;  and  of  these  five  are  now  living,  Oscar  being  the  eldest. 
vShe  was  a  sincere  Christian  and  an  esteemed  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  She  died  August  27,  1899,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five 
years. 


OSCAR  WOODRUFr 


BIOGRAPHICAL  195 

Oscar  Woodruff  received  a  little  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
this  county,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  entered  the  office  of  the 
newspaper  he  now  owns,  which  was  then  known  as  the  Dansville 
Herald.  He  became  thoroughly  proficient  in  the  business  of  the 
office,  following  the  printer's  trade  until  18()1,  when  his  patriotic  spirit 
was  aroused  by  the  call  of  the  President  for  volunteers  in  defense  of 
the  Union.  He  enlisted  in  the  Tenth  New  York  Cavalry,  which  was 
connected  with  Gregg's  Cavalry  Division,  and,  having  served  for  three 
years,  re-enlisted  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  re- 
ceived his  honorable  discharge  at  Syracuse.  He  actively  participated 
in  many  of  the  battles  of  the  war,  and  was  three  times  promoted — first 
to  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant,  then  to  first  lieutenant,  and  after- 
ward to  the  brevet  rank  of  captain.  Returning  to  civil  life,  Air. 
Woodruff  once  more  became  a  citizen  of  Dansville,  where  he  has  since 
passed  the  most  of  his  time,  although  from  1873  until  1875  he  was 
paymaster's  clerk  in  the  United  States  Navy.  Having  a  decided  in- 
clination toward  journalism,  for  which  he  was  well  fitted,  Mr.  Wood- 
ruff bought  the  Dansville  Express  in  1877,  and  has  since  then  devoted 
himself  to  its  management.  It  is  a  bright,  newsy  and  original  sheet, 
and  has  a  large  circulation  that  is  by  no  means  confined  to  party 
lines.  This  paper  was  formerly  called  the  Dansville  Herald,  and  was 
started  in  1850  by  E.  C.  Daugherty  and  J.  C.  Sprague  under  the  firm 
name  of  E.  C.  Daugherty  lSj  Co.,  and  was  published  in  the  interests  of 
the  Whig  party.  About  January  1,  1857,  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  Know-Nothing  party,  and  was  under  the  management  of  E.  G. 
Richardson  &  Co.  for  three  months.  In  April,  1857,  H.  C.  Page 
assumed  control  of  the  paper;  and  at  the  end  of  that  year  it  was  pur- 
chased by  George  A.  Sanders,  and  changed  to  an  advocate  of  Republi- 
canism. On  August  1,  1S()5,  it  was  sold  to  Frank  J.  Robbins  and  L. 
D.  F.  Poore,  who  on  August  9,  changed  its  name  to  the  Dansville 
Express,  and  enlarged  it  from  a  six  to  a  seven-column  paper.  In 
October  1870,  F.  J.  Robbins  became  the  sole  proprietor,  and  further 
enlarged  it  to  an  eight-column  paper,  which  he  conducted  in  the  interest 
of  Horace  Greeley  until  the  close  of  that  famous  campaign,  when  he 
continued  it  as  a  Democratic  journal.  On  June  1,  1877,  the  paper 
was  bought  by  Oscar  Woodruff  and  A.  H.  Knapp;  and  they  conducted 
it  in  partnership  until  Mr.  Woodruff  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr. 
Knapp  in  1882,  since  which  period  he  has  managed  it  himself,  greatly 
increasing  its  circulation,  and  bringing  it  up  to  its  present  high  rank 
among  the  leading  newspapers  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Woodruff  has  been  twice  married.  In  1869  he  was  united  in 
wedlock  to  Mary  Betts,  daughter  of  John  Betts,  a  pioneer  settler  of 
Dansville.  Mrs.  Mary  Woodruff  died  in  1870;  and  in  1892  Mr.  Wood- 
ruff married  Miss  Nettie  Carney,  daughter  of  William  G.  Carney,  of 
Sparta.  Mr.  Woodruff  has  thoroughly  identified  himself  with  the  best 
interests  of  the  town  and  county  wherein  he  resides,  served  as  super- 
visor from  1890  to  1895,  having  been  chairman  of  the  board  one 
year.  He  was  elected  president  of  the  village  of  Dansville  in  1900  and 
was  re-elected  in  1901  and  1902.  Politically,  he  is  a  strong  advocate 
of  the  Democratic  principles.  Socially,  he  is  a  prominent  member  of 
Canaseraga  Lodge,  No.  123,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
has  held  every  office   in  the  lodge.     He   is  also  a  member  of  Phoenix 


196 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


Lodge,  No.  115,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  a  charter  member  and  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Seth  N.  Hedges  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  was 
commander  for  two  years,    and  adjutant  for  seven  years. 

Henry  E.  Hubbard 

Henry  Eugene  Hubbard, 
the  well  known  manufac- 
turer of  pumps  and  well 
curbs,  has  been  a  resident 
of  Dansville  for  over  forty 
years,  having  come  to  this 
village  with  his  parents  in 
1861  from  Norwich,  Che- 
nango county,  N.  Y.  He 
is  the  eldest  of  three  chil- 
dren of  Henry  and  Lucretia 
(Gates)  Hubbard  and  was 
born  at  Newport,  N.  H., 
November  4,  1852.  He  is 
descended  from  English 
stock  which  took  root  in  the 
colonies  in  the  early  days, 
and  who  brought  from  their 
native  land  a  name  and  fame 
which  antedated  the  year 
1000  to  which  the  present 
family  can  trace  their  gene- 
ology. 

His  early  education  was 
acquired  in  the  village  schools  and  the  Dansville  Seminary. 
Having  thus  acquired  a  liberal  education  to  fit  him  for  an  active  busi- 
ness career,  in  1876  he  succeeded  his  father  in  the  manufacture  of 
pumps  and  well  curbs,  in  which  business  he  is  still  engaged  with 
every  prospect  of  continued  success.  , 

On  April  14,  1875  he  married  Ida  D.  Squires,  daughter  of  Bryon  T. 
Squires  who  for  many  years  was  one  of  Dansville's  first  and  most 
respected  citizens  and  lawyers  and  who  held  public  office  for  sixteen 
years.  Mr.  Hubbard's  present  family  consists  of  one  son  and  one 
daughter;  Katherine  Eggleston  and  William  Arthur.  Katherine  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Geneseo  Normal  and  is  now  the  able  instructor  of 
the  Teachers  training  class  at  Haverling  High  School,  Bath,  N.  Y. 
William  resides  with  his  parents  and  is  fast  becoming  proficient  as  a 
practical   jeweler,  which  trade  he  has  followed  for  some  years. 

Under  Mr.  Hubbard's  watchful  care  and  wise  and  prudent  manage- 
ment, his  business  has  rapidly  extended  until  the  territory  embraced 
covers  this  and  many  adjoining  States. 

He  is  an  adherent  to  the  Episcopal  form  of  worship  and  is  strongly 
Republican  in  his  political  beliefs.  Personally  he  is  a  man  of  genial 
temperment  and  attractive  social  qualities,  which  are  in  no  small  way 
accountable  for  his  influence  at  home  and  abroad. 


HENRY   E.   HUBBARD 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


Alfred  L.  VanValkenburg 


197 


Alfred  L.  A^an  Valkenburg,  proprietor  of  one  the  largest  musical 
establishments  in  western  New  York,  now  located  at  Dansville, 
N.  Y.,  was  born  April  25,  1861  in  the  town  of  Wayland.  Attending 
the  district  school  at  Groveland  and  later  the  Geneseo  Normal 
School,  Mr.  Van  Valkenburg  laid  the  foundation  for  a  successful 
business  career  by  acquiring  a  thorough  and  liberal  education. 
Inheriting  from  his  father,  William  H.  Van  Valkenburg,  a  desire 
for  commercial  pursuits  and  from  his  mother  Rodina  (Rau)  Van 
Valkenburg,  a  taste  for  the  cultivation  of  the  mind,  Alfred  L.  has 
happily  combined  these  two  heritages  so  that  the  most  benefit  might 
ultimately  accrue  therefrom.      His  first  commercial  venture  was  made 


ALFRED  L.  VAN  VALKENBURG 


at  Cuylerville,  N.  Y.,  where  he  conducted  a  general  mercantile  busi- 
ness until  1889,  when  he  became  the  representative  of  the  Singer  Sew- 
ing Machine  Co.  In  the  latter  capacity  he  was  located  at  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  Since  1895,  he  has  been  identified  with  his  present  business  in 
Dansville,  N.  Y. ,  which  has  steadily  increased  under  his  wise  and 
judicious  management.  Mr.  Van  Valkenburg  was  married  in  1883  to 
Miss  Cora  S.  Johnston  of  Geneseo  N.  Y.,  daughter  of  the  late  Law- 
rence Johnston  of  Webster,  N.  Y.  One  boy  and  one  girl,  Earl  W. 
and  Mazie  R. ,  complete  the  immediate  family.  Mr.  Van  Valkenburg 
served  as  postmaster  at  Cuylerville,  N.  Y.,  under  the  last  Harrison 
administration.  Aside  from  business,  he  has  been  identified  with  an 
unusual  number  of  interests  both  social  and  artistic;  he  is  the  present 
prophet  of  the  local  order  of  Red  Men  and  prominently  identified  with 
the  Maccabees,  the  Sons  of  Veterans,  the  Odd  Fellows,  and  Hay- 
makers, and  the  Protective  Fire  Company  No.  1  of  this  village.  In 
the  prime  of  life,  Mr.  Van  Valkenburg  can  look  forward  to  many  years 
of  continued  prosperity,  sweetened  by  the  respect  of  his  associates  in 
business  and  social  circles. 


198 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


JosepH  W.  Burgess 

Joseph  William  Burgess,  as  editor  of  the  Dansville  Breeze  since 
its  establishment  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  has  undoubtedly  become 
as  well  and  favorably  known  to  most  of  the  people  of  Livingston  and 
Steuben  counties  as  any  other  resident  of  Dansville.  Shaping  his 
early  career  with  a  shoemaker's  hammer,  creditable  work  as  a  me- 
chanic won  him  many  friends  and  liberal  patronage.  His  tastes, 
however,  had  always  been  of  a  literary  character  which  he  afterwards 
made  manifest  on  his  entrance  into  journalism.  His  early  acquired 
ability  to  strike  the  nail  en  the  head  enabled  him  by  judicious 
management  and  an  unimpeachable  desire  for  the  truth,  to  make  an 
immediate    success    of     his    first    venture    in    newspaper   work.      His 


JOSEPH  W.  BURGESS 


parents,  Joseph  and  Ann  (Brettle)  Burgess,  are  both  natives  of 
England,  the  former's  birth  occurring  at  Nottingham,  July  31,  1824, 
and  the  latter's  at  Carlton,  July  30,  1823.  Strong-minded,  warm- 
hearted people,  they  brought  with  them  to  this  country  a  conscien- 
tious desire  to  succeed  and  the  noble  manner  in  which  they  made  this 
possible,  has  ennobled  the  name  of  American  citizenship.  The 
mother  died  January  1,  1890.  The  daughters,  Anna  and  Elizabeth, 
reside  with  their  father  at  the  homestead  on  Elizabeth  street. 

Joseph  W. ,  was  born  January  1,  1851,  at  Dansville,  N.  Y. ,  and  with 
the  exception  of  three  years  spent  in  a  Michigan  lumber  yard,  1876 
to  1879,  and  the  Pennsylvania  oil  fields,  he  has  been  a  continuous 
resident  of  this  village.     He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools   and 


lUOGRAPHICAL 


199 


Dansville  Seminar)-,  interspersing  his  scholastic  training  with  a 
liberal  sprinkling  of  hard  work  at  the  bench  with  his  father  and  as 
clerk  in  the  postoffice.  From  1880  to  1883,  he  was  assistant  editor 
of  the  Dansville  Advertiser.  During  the  latter  year,  he  launched 
with  the  able  assistance  of  Miller  H.  Fowler,  a  dollar  a  year,  non- 
partisan, weekly  newspaper,  the  Dansville  Breeze,  which  has  won 
cumulative  favor  by  never  deviating  from  its  original  firm  policy. 

On  August  21,  1873,  Mr.  Burgess  was  married  to  ]\Iiss  Rhoda  A. 
Shafer  who  was  spared  to  him  for  only  two  years,  she  died  Septem- 
ber 20,  1875.  May  1,  1889,  he  married  Miss  Helen  F.  Sutton  of 
Hornellsville,  N.  V,,  who  is  the  mother  of  three  boys  and  two  girls: 
J.  Edwin,  Alice  A.,  Carl  S.,  Robert  W.  and  Helen  L.  Mr.  Burgess 
has  always  been  identified  with  the  Methodist  church,  having  been 
elected  to  the  office  of  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  con- 
tinuously fcr  twenty  years.  He  has  also  taken  an  active  part  in  pro- 
moting the  efficiency  of  the  fire  department,  assuming  the  responsi- 
bility of  a  number  of  offices  in  the  Protectives  Company,  of  which  he 
is  a  charter  member,  and  serving  as  chief   of  the  department  for  three 


RESIDENCE,  J.  W.  BUR.GESS 


years.  He  is  a  ready  public  speaker,  and  a  most  agreeable  and  cul- 
tured gentleman  who  has  a  host  of  friends  and  sincere  admirers  both 
in  his  private  life  and  among  the  constituency  of  his  newspaper. 
Dansville  takes  pride  in  his  citizenship. 

June  1,  1902,  Mr.  Burgess  sold  his  interest  in  the  Breeze  to  his 
partner  Miller  H.  Fowler  and  accepted  a  position  as  advertising 
representative  of  the  Instructor  Publishing  Company,  a  responsible 
position  to  which  he  is  peculiarly  well  adapted. 


200 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


James  H.  Baker 

In  twenty  years,  Mr. 
James  H.  Baker  has  so 
closely  identified  himself 
with  Dansville  and  her 
best  interests  that  all 
who  know  him  and  love 
this  village  regret  that 
he  has  not  always  been 
among  them. 

A  native  of  West 
Bloomfield,  Ontario 
county,  he  was  born  Sep- 
tember 18,  1841,  where 
the  first  two  score  years 
of  his  life  were  spent. 
He  followed  up  his  early 
training  in  the  public 
schools  by  completing 
courses  at  the  Genesee 
Wesleyan  and  Fairfield 
Seminaries.  For  seven- 
teen years,  he  success- 
fully conducted  a  gen- 
eral store  at  West  Bloom- 
field,  relinquishing  his 
interests  in  that  place  to  move  to  Dansville  where  he  has  since  resided. 
For  four  years,  he  gave  his  time  and  energy  to  the  building  up  of 
a  substantial  grocery  business,  afterwards  embarking  in  the  nursery 
business,  in  which  he  was  engaged  for  six  years.  During  the  last  ten 
years,  he  has  turned  his  attention  to  insurance  and  real  estate,  and  the 
efficient  manner  in  which  he  handles  all  transactions  entrusted  to  his 
judicious  care,  has  encouraged  confidence  and  substantial  patronage. 
Mr.  Baker  was  married  October,  1862,  to  Miss  Grace  Wright,  a  resi- 
dent of  Worcester,  Otsego  county,  and  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  fam- 
ous Pease  family.  One  son,  Fred  W. ,  is  the  only  child  and  now  resides 
in  Takoma,  Wash.,  where  he  is  engaged  in  business.  Ella  May,  the 
only  daughter  died  July  28,  1897  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  She 
was  born  in  West  Bloomfield,  January  4,  1881,  and  came  with  her 
parents  to  this  village  in  the  spring  of  1882.  She  grew  up  in  Dans- 
ville and  all  the  way  from  girlhood  to  young  womanhood  grew  into 
the  hearts  of  the  many  and  was  most  of  all  the  life  and  pride  of  her 
home.  Bright  and  ambitious  she  advanced  rapidly  in  her  studies  and 
was  equally  active  in  church  and  social  life. 

His  father  William  Baker  was  born  at  East  Haddam,  Conn,  in 
1800,  and  his  mother  Elvira  (Parker)  Baker  in  1801  at  East  Bloomfield. 
The  former  died  in  1883  and  the  latter  in  1881.  The  close  of  the  Civil 
War  found  Mr.  Baker  entering  upon  a  vigorous  manhood  with  personal 
plans  well  matured  and  organized  for  victory.  As  soon  as  it  became 
clear  to  him  that  a  war  was  inevitable,  Mr.  Baker  abandoned  his  pri- 
vate interests  and  gave  himself  up  unreservedly  to  the  cause  of  his 


JAMES  H.  BAKEB^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


201 


country.  As  an  orderly  sergeant  of  Company  K  of  the  15th  New 
York  Engineers,  he  saw  much  active  service  and  received  his  honor- 
able discharge  July,  18()5.  Having  served  his  country  in  the  trying 
time  of  war,  Mr.  Baker  has  continued  his  interest  in  her  welfare  and 
has  always  taken  great  interest  in  public  affairs  both  local  and  Na- 
tional. He  is  strong  and  influential  advocate  of  republican  principles. 
He  also  favors  the  Presbyterian  creed  as  a  form  of  divine  worship. 

His  interests  are  not  confined  entirely  to  affairs  immediately  per- 
taining to  his  business,  but  he  takes  great  pleasure  in  promoting  effi- 
cient work  among  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows,  who  rejoice  in  his 
association.  For  twenty  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  Seth  N. 
Hedges  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  has  served  the  organization  two  terms  as 
commander. 


residence:,  j.  h.  baker 


202 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


Bernard  H.  Oberdorf 


BERNARD    H.    OBERDORF 


Bernard  H.  Oberdorf  was 
born  near  Dansville,  February 
3,  1855,  and  his  home  has  been 
here  since  he  was  six  years  old. 
His  progressive  business  and 
social  success  is  known  to 
almost  every  citizen.  He  has 
made  his  way  by  well-directed 
industry,  coupled  with  intelli- 
gence, persistence  and  popular 
personal  qualities — in  pait  a 
goodly  inheritance  from 
worthy  ancestors.  His  father, 
a  respected  veteran  of  the 
civil  war  and  professional 
musician,  was  for  many  years 
one  of  the  musical  leaders  of 
Dansville,  and  since  1882  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  musical 
matters  in  Rochester,  where 
he  was  an  incorporator  of  the 
S4th  Regiment  Band,  and 
became  the  president  both  of 
that  organization  and  the 
Rochester  Musical  Protective  Association.  The  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  Bernard  Hamsher,  one  of  the  sturdy  pioneers  of  Sparta. 
He  entered  the  office  of  the  Dansville  Advertiser  as  an  apprentice  at 
the  age  of  thirteen,  and  remained  there  thirteen  years,  rising  to  the 
position  of  foreman  while  yet  almost  a  boy,  and  finally  to  that  of  edi- 
torial assistant.  After  his  health  became  impaired  he  started  as  a 
local  insurance  agent,  but  soon  accepted  the  place  of  clerk  for  the 
contractors  of  the  D.  L.  &  W.  railroad — who  were  then  constructing 
the  through  line  to  Buffalo — and  looked  after  their  office  business  for 
several  months.  He  then  became  identified  with  some  of  the  insur- 
ance companies  before  mentioned  which  he  now  represents.  In  1886 
he  married  Miss  Helen  G.  Grant,  daughter  of  Colonel  T.  B.  Grant, 
whose  long  mercantile  career  and  leadership  in  local  military  affairs 
are  an  important  part  of  local  history. 

Mr.  Oberdorf  is  a  member  and  Past  Master  of  Phoenix  Lodge  No. 
115  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  a  member  and  Past  Grand  of  Canaseraga  Lodge 
No.  123  I.  O.  of  O.  F.  For  eleven  years  he  was  an  active  member  of 
Union  Hose  Company,  which  he  has  served  both  as  secretary  and 
president,  and  of  which  he  is  now  an  e.xempt,  honorary  and  club 
member.  He  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  village,  and  officially  identi- 
fied with  important  organizations  for  the  benefit  of  the  village,  such 
as  the  Board  of  Education,  and  the  Dansville  Library  Association, 
not  to  mention  other  responsibilities  which  have  been  thrust  upon 
him  from  time  to  time. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


203 


Experience  and  stud}-  in  connection  with  some  of  the  best  insurance 
companies  and  ablest  insurance  managers  in  the  world,  have  made  Mr. 
Oberdorf  complete  master  of  the  local  details  and  requirements  of  the 
business,  and  he  can  be  depended  upon  for  correct  information  and 
prompt,  faithful  service  pertaining  thereto. 

JoHn  C.  NVilliams 

One  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  citizens  of  Dansville,  John  C.  Wil- 
liams, died  Monday,  May  24,  1897,  from  the  effects  of  a  paralytic 
stroke.  Mr.  Williams  had  been  in  feeble  health  for  some  years,  but 
was  able  to  attend  to  his  milling  business,  his  last  visit  to  the  mill 
being  but  two  days  previous  to  his  death.      Mr.  Williams  was  born   at 


J.   C.  WILLIAMS 

Phelps,  Ontario  county,  June  6,  1820,  the  son  of  Horace  D.  Williams 
and  grandson  of  Major  Chester  Williams  of  revolutionary  fame.  His 
mother  was  Mary  Bardwell,  of  the  family  of  Sir  William  de  Bardwell 
of  Bardwell,  Sufifolk  county,  England.  Mr.  Williams  came  to  Dans- 
ville from  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  1843,  having  spent  most  of  his  youth- 
ful  days  in  that  city.     After  coming  to  Dansville,  he  engaged  in  the 


204 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


milling  business,  to  which  he  added  later  the  nursery  business.  In 
1847,  he  married  Miss  Fanny  Bradner  Faialkner,  daughter  of  the  late 
Dr.  James  Faulkner.  Of  nine  children,  six  survive;  Mrs.  H.  P.  Mills, 
Katherine  B.  and  Minerva  F.  Williams  of  Dansville,  Edward  H.  of 
Wentworth,  Mo.,  Mrs.  Pell  W.  Foster  and  Mrs.  Chas.  Q.  Freeman  of 
New  York  city,  also  two  sisters  and  one  brother;  Mrs.  A.  J.  Bailey, 
recently  deceased,  and  Miss  Louise  J.  Williams  and  Horace  D.  Wil- 
liams of  Leslie,  Michigan.  Mr.  Williams  was  a  man  of  fine  business 
qualifications,  of  quiet  demeanor  and  habits  and  a  citizen  highly 
esteemed.  He  was  a  charter  member  of  Canaseraga  Lodge,  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  of  this  village,  which  was  organized  in  1844.  For  many  years,  one 
of  the  leading  men  of  this  village,  Mr.  Williams  enriched  the  prestige 
of  a  family  name  already  replete  in  praiseworthy  reminiscenses  that 
have  lived  through  many  centuries. 

^   ^* 

Emerson  JoHnsoxi 


Hon.  Emerson  Johnson  of  The 
Jackson  Sanatorium,  was  born 
August  11,  1812,  in  the  town  of 
Sturbridge,  Massachusetts.  His 
grandfather,  James  Johnson, 
held  the  original  grant  of  the 
homestead  farm,  and  was  among 
the  earliest  volunteers  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  His  father, 
James,  Jr.,  inherited  the  family 
estate  and  served  two  terms  in 
the  State  legislature.  H  i  s 
mother  died  in  his  boyhood. 

Mr.  Johnson  fi  n  i  s  h  e  d  his 
school  education  at  Wilbraham 
Academy,  Conn. ,  one  of  the 
oldest  educational  institutions 
in  the  country.  In  1838  he 
married  Miss  Hannah  Arnold 
and  settled  in  the  old  homestead. 
One  son  and  two  daughters  were 
born  of  this  marriage.  The  son 
Arthur  fell  in  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  and  the  Grand 
Army  Post  of  Sturbridge  bears  his  name.  Mrs.  Hannah  Johnson  died 
in  1844,  and  Mr.  Johnson  married  for  his  second  wife.  Miss  Fanny  L. 
Brown,  a  graduate  of  Mt.  Holyoke  Seminary,  who  with  one  daughter 
survives  him. 

In  1851,  and  again  in  1861,  Mr.  Johnson  was  elected  to  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts,  and  in  1865  was  chosen  to  the 
State  Senate.  His  influence  won  the  vote  which  turned  to  Charles 
Sumner,  gave  him  one  majority  and  elected  him  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  a  service  which  Senator  Sumner  afterward  gratefully  acknowl- 
edged. 


HON.   EMERSON   JOHNSON 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


305 


In  1866  Mr.  Johnson  removed  from  Massachusetts  to  Dansville, 
where  he  and  his  wife  became  members  of  the  family  at  Brightside, 
the  residence  of  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson.  Here  he  be- 
came actively  identified  with  The  Jackson  Sanatorium  as  superintend- 
ent of  its  grounds  and  buildings.  With  money,  talent  and  labor  he 
materially  promoted  the  growth  and  success  of  this  great  health 
institution. 

It  was  in  his  religious  and  domestic  life  that  "Father  Johnson"  was 
at  his  best.  A  man  of  strong  religious  convictions  he  struggled  bravely 
against  the  stern  New  England  theology  under  which  he  was  reared. 
He  lived  to  see  the  greatest  preachers  of  the  age  standing  on  the  ad- 
vanced ground  of  liberal  thought  that  he  had  reached  in  early  man- 
hood; and  he  rejoiced  to  know  that  a  broader  humanity  had  been 
coupled  with  practical  Christianity.  He  was  a  faithful  attendant 
upon  Christian  worship,  rarely  missing  the  daily  chapel  services  from 
year  to  year.  He  enjoyed  his  home,  his  family  and  his  friends  with 
all  the  zest  of  a  lover  to  the  last  conscious  moment,  until  his  great 
heart  ceased  to  beat  forever.  After  a  six  weeks'  illness  he  died  at  the 
Brightside  home,  May  2,  1896,  in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Giles  £lderkin  Jackson 


Giles  Elderkin  Jackson  was 
born  in  the  village  of  Peterboro, 
Madison  county.  N.  Y. ,  on  June 
20,  1836,  the  eldest  son  of  Dr. 
James  C.  Jackson.  He  moved 
with  the  Jackson  family  to  Glen 
Haven,  Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y.  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  years,  and  had  his 
academic  education  in  Homer, 
Cortland  county,  N.  Y.,  at  an 
academy  in  those  days  famous 
for  the  educational  opportunities 
which  it  offered,  presided  over  as 
it  was  by  President  Woolworth, 
one  of  the  early  Regents  of  the 
State.  After  gaining  his  educa- 
tion he  broke  down  while  account- 
ant for  the  firm  of  Miller,  Orton 
&  Mulligan,  a  publishing  house 
at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  bled  at  the 
lungs,  and  was  sent  to  Nebraska 
for  his  health  in  1857,  where  he 
took  up  and  entered  land  seven 
miles  back  of  Omaha  and  Flor- 
ence, Neb.  At  that  time  Omaha  had  only  a  few  hundred  inhabitants. 
In  the  fall  of  1858  he  came  back  to  Glen  Haven  very  much  improved 
in  health,  and  participated  in  the  emigration  of  the  Jackson   family 


GILES   ELDERKIN  JACKSON 


206 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


to  Dansville  and  became  the  active  business  head  of  the  new  partner- 
ship of  F.  Wilson  Hurd  &  Company,  and  continued  so  to  be  until  his 
health  again  failed.  In  1861  he  was  superseded  by  his  brother  Dr. 
James  H.  Jackson  in  the  active  care  and  oversight  of  the  business  of 
the  Institution.  He  lived  to  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  dying  on  the 
29th  of  June,  1864. 

He  will  be  remembered  by  the  citizens  of  Dansville  who  are  famil- 
iar with  the  early  history  of  the  Institution,  as  a  man  of  rare  promise, 
with  literary  gifts,  and  a  spiritual  culture  not  often  attained  at  so 
early  an  age.  He  originated  the  idea  and  made  the  plan  for  the 
building  which  is  now  known  as  the  Chapel  of  the  Jackson  Sanator- 
ium, in  those  days  called  Liberty  Hall.  This  building  erected  in 
1862-63  is  today  a  monument  to  his  forethought  in  providing  a  hall, 
from  the  platform  of  which  his  father  might  promulgate  to  the  thou- 
sands who  came  to  his  Institution  the  philosophy  and  practices  under- 
lying it,  which  were  so  wonderful  in  their  beneficent  effects  in  recon- 
structing the  health  and  spiritual  life  of  his  patients. 

Jatnes  ArtKur  Jackson 


James  Arthur  Jackson,  M.  D., 
only  son  of  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson 
and  Katherine  Johnson,  was  born 
at  Dansville,  May  4,  1868.  He 
has  always  lived  in  Dansville,  re- 
ceiving his  education  at  the 
Academy,  and  the  preparatory 
schools  of  Cornell  University,  and 
a  thorough  business  education  at 
the  Rochester  Business  Univer- 
sity. He  began  early  in  his  life 
to  associate  himself  with  his 
father  in  the  management  of  the 
business  of  The  Jackson  Sana- 
torium ;  in  fact  he  became  asso- 
ciate business  manager  of  the 
same  before  he  had  secured  his 
medical  education,  and  kept  sharp 
watch  of  its  affairs  during  the 
period  of  his  passage  through  the 
University  of  Buffalo,  from  which 
he  graduated  as  physician  in 
1895,  only  a  few  days  after  the 
death  of  his  grandfather,  who,  had 

he   lived   a   few   days  longer,  would  have  been  able  to  say  that  his  son 

and  grandson  had  been  practicing  physicians  during  his  own   lifetime 

in  the  institution  which  he  had  founded. 

In   1891  he  married   Ethelwyn   McMullen,    daughter  of  George  W. 

McMullen  of  Picton,  Ont.,  Canada,  and  to  them   a  son  James  Arthur 

Jackson,  Jr.  was  born  April  15,  1898. 


JAMES  ARTHUR  JACKSON 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


207 


Dr.  Jackson  became  a  stockholder  and  trustee,  and  secretary  of  the 
present  corporation  known  as  The  Jac-kson  vSanatorium  in  19(»t),  and  is 
at  the  present  time  in  the  flush  of  his  early  manhood,  not  only  the 
business  manager  of  the  institution  but  a  busy  practicing  physician  on 
its  medical  stai¥. 

Dr.  Jackson  has  been  associated  with  the  citizens  of  the  town  in  its 
various  business  enterprises,  having  been  for  some  years,  as  he  is  now, 
director  in  the  Citizens  Bank  of  Dansville.  He  inherits  very  much  of 
his  grandfather  Jackson's  capacity  for  organization,  is  an  admirable 
business  organizer,  and  has  the  facility  in  the  use  of  language  which 
distinguished  his  grandfather  and  made  him  a  superior  platform 
speaker. 


Lucretia  £dg;erton  Jackson 


Lucretia  Edgerton  Jackson  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Mexico,  C)s- 
wc,sj,()  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  2(),  1810, 
being  the  daughter  of  Judge  Elias 
Brewster,  an  early  resident  of  the 
town,  and  a  man  of  force  and 
prominence  in  the  community. 
.She  was  a  direct  descendent  of 
Elder  William  Brewster,  some- 
times called  the  Chief  of  the  Pil- 
grims, and  used  to  pride  herself 
on  her  good  Puritan  blood  which 
showed  itself  in  her  a  worthy  de- 
scendant of  the  Elder,  in  her 
wonderfully  developed  character, 
noted  for  its  t]uietness,  steadfast- 
ness, her  sunny  disposition  and 
Christian  graces.  In  1S30  she 
married  James  C.  Jackson  at  that 
time  a  resident  of  jNIanlius,  On- 
ondaga Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  was  a 
helpmeet  indeed  to  him  in  all  his 
work  in  the  early  temperance  and 
anti-slavery  days,  sheltering  at 
her  house  in  Peterboro,  N.  Y.,  ofttimes  when  her  husband  was  away 
on  his  lecturing  trips,  negroes  who  were  enroute  by  the  underground 
railway  from  the  South  to  Canada  in  the  years  from  1830  to  1845. 
When  Dr.  Jackson  became  interested  in  health  reform  in  1847,  mak- 
ing his  first  venture  in  this  direction  as  practicing  physician  in  the 
control  of  the  Glen  Haven  Water  Cure  at  the  head  of  Skaneateles 
Lake,  Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  she  was  foremost  in  all  the  affairs  of  a 
competent  and  busy  housewife.  Coming  to  Dansville  with  him  in 
1858,  she  was  for  some  eight  or  ten  years  active  in  the  management  of 
the  culinary  and  housekeeping  departments  of  Our  Home  on  the  Hill- 


LUCRETIA  EDGERTON  JACKSON 


208 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


side,  but  eventually  yielded  this  position  to  her  daughter-in-law,  Kath- 
arine J.  Jackson.  From  this  time  until  the  day  of  her  death  in  Feb. 
1890,  at  which  time  she  only  lacked  a  few  days  of  being  80  years  old, 
she  lived  in  comparative  retirement,  for  some  years  at  Dr.  Jackson's 
Lake  home  at  Maple  Beach,  Conesus  lake,  and  the  rest  of  the  time  at 
the  family  residence  known  as  Brightside. 

She  was  most  lovingly  esteemed  by  hundreds  of  people  young  and 
old,  patients  and  helpers,  who  received  from  her  every  kind  attention 
and  help  which  could  be  rendered  during  all  the  days  of  her  associa- 
tion with  the  business  interests  of  the  Institution.  She  had  a  passion 
for  helping  the  young  to  live  more  nobly  and  truly  if  possible  than 
they  were  doing,  and  was  a  real  mother  in  Israel  to  many  a  poor  fellow 
seeking  to  recover  his  health,  and  to  learn  the  way  in  life  which  had 
been  lost  through  misadventure,  so  that  she  was  always  known  as 
"Mother  Jackson."  She  will  be  remembered  by  those  of  her  age 
and  time  in  Dansville  as  interested  in  all  charitable  undertakings, 
and  a  faithful  friend  and  helper. 


KatKarine  J.  Jackson 

Katharine  J.  Jackson,  M.  D.,  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Sturbridge, 
Massachusetts,  April  7,  1841,  her 
father  being  Hon.  Emerson  John- 
son, a  sketch  of  whom  is  given  in 
this  work.  Her  great-grandfather 
was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in 
that  town.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  Militia,  joining 
the  Revolutionary  Army  the  day 
after  the  battle  of  Lexington.  Her 
mother  was  Hannah  Arnold,  also 
of  the  same  town. 

Mrs.  Jackson's  education  was 
completed  at  Hartford,  Conn.  At 
the  close  of  her  school  life  she 
studied  stenography,  and  becom- 
ing expert,  applied  for  a  position 
as  stenographer  to  Dr.  James  C. 
Jackson,  at  Our  Home  on  the 
Hillside.  Mrs.  Jackson's  step-mother  (Fanny  B.  Johnson)  had  been  a 
patient  of  Dr.  Jackson's  when  he  was  practicing  at  Glen  Haven,  Cay- 
uga county,  N.  Y.,  and  thus  the  two  families  knew  something  of  each 
other.  Her  application  was  accepted,  and  she  came  in  January  1862, 
and  acted  as  stenographer  to  Dr.  Jackson,  with  short  interregnum, 
until  September  13,  1864  when  she  married  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson, 
who  was  then  business  manager  of  Our  Home.  She  filled  until  1873 
the  position  of  overseeing  matron  of  the  institution,  going  at  thistime 
with  her  husband  to  pursue  a  medical  course  with  him.     She  was  an 


KATHAMNE  J.JACKSON 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


209 


attendant  upon  the  college  of  the  New  York  Infirmary  for  women  pre- 
sided over  I)}-  Dr.  Emily  Blackwell,  one  of  the  earliest  Medical  Col- 
leges for  women  in  this  country,  and  one  of  the  best.  For  four  years 
she  pursued  her  studies  in  medicine,  graduating  as  valedictorian  of 
her  class,  and  returned  to  enter  upon  her  medical  profession  as  lady 
physician  in  the  institution,  in  the  spring  of  1877.  Her  identification 
with  the  institution  as  co-worker  with  the  proprietors  and  members  of 
the  faculty  has  been  without  break  up  to  the  present  time,  although 
latterly  her  duties  have  been  those  of  Emeritus  physician  rather  than 
of  one  in  active  medical  practice, but  socially  she  has  been  and  is  still 
largely  identified  with  the  work  and  interests  of  the  institution. 

It  is  but  just  to  say  that  the  welfare  of  the  institution,  its  popular- 
ity with  its  guests,  and  the  good  health  of  hundreds  of  women  have 
been  due  to  the  conscientious,  devoted  and  tactful  Avork  of  this  lady. 
All  who  know  her  recognize  her  as  one  of  the  leading  factors  in  the 
growth,  development,  and  present  success  of  The  Jackson  Sanatorium. 

Her  professional  work  has  not  allowed  her  to  enter  into  the  public 
or  social  life  of  the  town  very  much  in  all  these  years,  but  her  public 
spirit  and  generosity  are  well  known.  vShe  has  lived  to  see  her  son 
James  Arthur  Jackson  filling  his  place  as  business  manager  of  the 
institution,  and  as  a  busy  practicing  physician  on  its  staff,  successful 
and  honored  in  his  career. 


«5u.. 


■^l: 


ALTA  VISTA,  RESIDENCE,   DK.  JAMES   H.  JACKSON 


210 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


Harriet  N.  Austin 


Harriet  N.  Austin,  M.  D., 
was  born  in  Connecticut  Aug. 
31,  1826.  She  came  to  Mora- 
via, Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y. ,  with 
her  family,  and  after  finishing 
her  education  in  the  schools  of 
the  village  graduated  in  medi- 
cine at  the  college  presided 
over  by  Dr.  R.  T.  Trail,  in 
New  York  city.  This  was  the 
first  so-called  Hydropathic  col- 
lege grounding  its  students  in 
all  the  ordinary  branches  of 
medical  practice  except  those 
of  drug  giving,  teaching  a  new 
system  of  therapeutics  modified 
somewhat,  but  practically  the 
same  as  that  introduced  by 
Priesnitz,  the  Bavarian  peasant, 
the  so-called  discoverer  of  the 
water  cure  or  hydropathic  treat- 
ment of  disease. 

Soon  after  her  graduation  she 
sought  admission  to  the  medi- 
cal staff  of  the  Glen  Haven 
water  cure,  at  that  time  presi- 
ded over  by  Dr.  James  C.  Jack- 
son, who  was  afterwards  the 
founder  of  The  Jackson  vSana- 
torium  in  Dansville,  becoming  an  active  practitioner  in  that  institu- 
tion about  the  year  1852.  Her  talent  and  most  excellent  work,  and 
her  superior  character  led  to  her  being  adopted  into  the  Jackson  fam- 
ily, thus  becoming  a  permanent  member  thereof,  so  that  when  Dr. 
Jackson  and  his  family  came  to  Dansville  to  open  the  Institution,  at 
that  time  known  as  Our  Home  on  the  Hillside,  she  came  also,  and 
became  a  partner  in  the  first  business  enterprise  (see  history  of  Insti- 
tution in  this  volume)  and  continued  to  be  identified  with  the  same 
actively  and  in  a  business  and  professional  way  until  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  Institution  after  the  fire  in  1882,  at  which  time  she  sold 
her  interest  to  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson,  though  she  continued  to  write 
for  the  "Laws  of  Life  and  Journal  of  Health,"  a  magazine  of  which 
she  had  been  editor  for  many  years,  and  through  which,  by  her 
writings,  she  had  large  influence  on  the  public  in  the  direction  of 
medical  reform,  and  particularly  along  the  line  of  reformation  in 
dress  for  women.  She  was  one  of  the  members  of  Dr.  Jackson's  fam- 
ily, who  in  association  with  many  of  the  guests  and  helpers  of  the 
Hillside,  wore  the  so-called  "American  costume"  for  many  years, 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  was  known  as  one  of  the  leading  dress- 
reformers   of   the    country,    traveling  and  speaking  in  favor   of     the 


HARRIET   N.  AUSTIN 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


211 


American  costume  as  a  dress  for  women,  much  more  healthful,  and  in 
every  way  better  fitted  for  them  for  many  reasons,  than  the  long 
skirts  and  tight  waists  prescribed  by  fashion.  Her  picture  at  the 
head  of  this  sketch  represents  her  in  her  costume,  and  will  doubtless 
in  the  minds  of  many  old  residents  of  the  town  call  up  associations  of 
the  early  days  of  the  Institution,  and  incidents  in  the  history  of  the 
village. 

Miss  Austin  died  at  the  residence  of  Dr.  Jackson  in  North  Adams, 
JNIass. ,  in  May,  1891,  and  was  buried  in  the  Jackson  lot  in  Greenmount 
cemetery. 


Bertrand  G.  Foss 

Bertrand  G.  Foss,  attorney  at  Dansville,  was  born  at  Le  Roy,  Pa., 
September  19,  1S()1,  being  son  of  the  late  Andrew  D.  Foss,  who  re- 
moved to  that  place  from  Xcw  Hampshire  at  an  early    age,    with    his 

parents.  Andrew  D.  Foss,  dur- 
ing the  time  he  resided  at  Le 
Riiy,  tdok  an  active  part  in  the 
politics  of  Bradford  county, 
holding  the  offices  of  justice  of 
the  peace,  county  commis- 
sioner, and  door-keeper  at  the 
House  of  Representatives  at 
Harrisburg.  In  1868  he  re- 
moved to  Canton,  Pa.,  where 
he  lived  in  retirement  until  his 
decease,  which  occurred  in  Jan- 
uary, 1893,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four.  The  maiden  name  of  his 
wife,  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  Sarah  S. 
Parkhurst,  of  Le  Roy.  Mrs. 
Foss,  now  aged  seventy-three, 
is  still  living  at  Canton,  Pa. 

Bertrand  G.  Foss,  who  is  an 
only  son,  attended  the  graded 
school  at  Canton,  and  graduated 
therefrom  in  1877,  delivering 
the  valedictory  address  of  his 
class.  He  was  afterward  em- 
ployed as  teacher  in  the  same 
school.  In  1882  he  came  to 
Dansville  as  the  agent  for  the  Ithaca  Piano  &  Organ  Company.  In 
1883  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Faulkner  &  Bis- 
sell,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Rochester  in  March,  1886.  In 
1889  Mr.  Foss  entered  into  a  co-partnership  with  Charles  J.  Bissel, 
Esq.,  for  the  practice  of  Law  under  the  firm  name  of  Bissell  &•  Foss. 
This  association  was  terminated  in  1891  by  the  removal  of  Mr.  Bissell 
to  Rochester,  since  which  time  Mr.  Foss  has  continued  the  practice  of 
law  in  the  same  office  where  he  began  his  clerkship. 


BERTRAND   G.   TOSS 


212  BIOGRAPHICAL 

Mr.  Foss,  as  a  firm  believer  in  the  principles  of  the  democratic 
party,  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  politics  of  Dansville  and 
Livingston  county.  From  the  year  1885  to  1898  he  was  justice  of 
the  peace  of  the  town  of  No.  Dansville.  In  the  last  mentioned  year 
he  was  elected  supervisor  and  held  the  office  continuously  since  that 
time.  He  has  also  held  the  office  of  Police  Justice  and  for  many  years 
has  been  attorney  for  the  Village  of  Dansville.  In  1889  he  was  the 
candidate  of  his  party  for  district  attorney  of  Livingston  county, 
and  was  defeated  by  a  small  majority  in  a  county  strongly  Republican. 
He  has  represented  his  party  upon  the  county  committee  for  many 
years  and  has  been  chairman  of  the  committee  since  1895,  and  was  a 
delegate  from  Livingston  county  to  the  Democratic  State  Convention 
in  1895.  Mr.  Foss  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Hattie  J. 
Bradley,  and  to  whom  he  was  united  in  marriage  at  Dansville  in  1886, 
are  attendants  upon  the  Episcopal  form  of  worship.  Mr.  Foss,  besides 
enjoying  professional  distinction,  is  closely  identified  with  various 
benevolent  and  social  fraternities  of  Dansville,  being  a  member  of 
Phoenix  Lodge,  No.  113,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Canaseraga  Lodge,  No.  123, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Dansville  Camp,  No.  64,  K.  O. 
T.  M.,  and  Protectives  No.  1,  Fire  Company. 


^^    ^ 


F.  R..  DriesbacK 

Dr.  Fred  Robert  Driesbach,  who  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  the  village  of  Dansville  since  1889,  was  born  at 
South  Dansville,  ]May  31,  1865.  His  success  in  his  chosen  field  of  en- 
deavor is  the  natural  sequence  of  favoring  influences  in  a  strong  line 
of  ancestry,  of  exceptional  educational  opportunities  and  of  persistent 
personal  effort  throughout  his  career.  He  is  the  son  of  Flenry  Dries- 
bach,  a  man  of  unimpeachable  character  and  an  admired  and  respected 
resident  of  Steuben  county.  His  mother,  Eunice  (Faulkner)  Dries- 
bach,  was  a  great  grand-daughter  of  Daniel  Faulkner,  in  honor  of 
whom  this  village  and  township  were  named  respectively  Dansville 
and  North  Dansville,  and  a  direct  descendant  also  of  Captain  Ferine, 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  this  village. 

Dr.  Driesbach  acquired  his  early  education  at  the  public  schools  and 
Dansville  Seminary,  leaving  home  at  the  age  of  sixteen  to  take  a  four- 
year  course  at  the  Geneseo  Normal,  from  which  institution  he  grad- 
uated in  1886.  The  following  three  years  he  spent  in  the  Medical 
Department  of  Columbia  University,  New  York  City,  receiving  the 
degree  of  M.  D.  in  June  1889.  From  1889  to  1893  he  practiced  in 
common  with  Dr.  James  Crisfield,  and  since  the  latter  date  has  con- 
ducted singly  an  extensive  practice  in  medicine  and  surgery,  with 
offices  and  consultation  rooms  at  his  residence,  100  Main  Street. 
Since  1890  he  has  been  local  manager  and  a  director  of  the  Dansville 
Medical  and  Surgical  Institute,  the  large  and  beautifully  equipped 
hospital  which  occupies  the  former  site  of  the  Dansville  Seminary. 


DR.  F.   P^.  DRIESBACH 


214 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


He  was  married  in  May  1890  to  Lora  E.  Bastian,  daughter  of  Gott- 
lob  Bastian,  who  is  one  of  Dansville's  inost  substantial  and  progressive 
citizens. 

Dr.  Driesbach's  profession  occupies  his  attention  chiefly,  though  he 
is  not  unmindful  of  social  and  other  obligations,  and  his  private  life  is 
what  might  be  expected  from  a  man  of  his  ability  and  consequent 
proininence. 


RESIDENCE,  DR.   DRIESBACH 


A  Presbyterian  by  faith  and  always  a  Republican  in  politics,  he  also 
takes  an  active  interest  in  the  local  order  of  Red  Men  and  the  Union 
Hose  Club.  From  1898  to  1900  he  served  as  trustee  of  the  village. 
Since  the  beginning  of  McKinley's  first  term  as  chief  executive  he  has 
been  president  of  the  Board  of  Surgeons  on  pension  examinations,  who 
have  their  headquarters  at  Mt.  Morris,  N.  Y.  His  rfiembership  with 
this  board  dates  from  the  last  term  of  President  Harrison.  He  is 
now  coroner  of  Livingston  county.  Dr.  Driesbach's  surpassing 
power  as  a  physician  is  due  to  a  combination  of  qualities,  any  one  of 
which  would  secure  a  fair  measure  of  success  and  all  together  explain 
his  remarkably  successful  career. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


215 


Peter  Geig^er. 

Of  the  many  hundreds 
who  have  formed  his  ac- 
quaintance in  a  social,  or 
business  way,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  one  who 
has  anything  but  praise 
for  the  late  Peter  Geiger, 
whose  untimely  death  was 
the  cause  of  universal 
grief.  His  genial  dis- 
position and  sympathetic 
nature  have  given  him  a 
strong  hold  on  a  wide 
circle  of  friends. 

Mr.  (jeiger  was  born  at 
Uhrweiler,  St.  Wendel, 
Germany,  Dec.  31,  1852. 
He  was  the  son  of  Johann 
and  Katrina  (Ostchen) 
(leiger;  his  father  being 
a  native  of  Uhrweiler,  St. 
"Wendel,  and  his  mother 
of  Krugelburn,  Germany. 
Sept.  8,  1874,  he  bade 
a  last  farewell  to  his  old 
homestead  and  came  to 
America.  Nearly  a  year  was  spent  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  where  he 
learned  the  butchers'  trade.  Removing  to  this  village,  July  23,  1872, 
he  entered  the  employ  of  Frank  Gunther.  On  Nov.  21,  1884,  he  es- 
tablished a  market  at  No.  142  Main  Street,  where  he  remained  until 
April  1,  1890,  when  he  moved  into  his  newly-built  market,  at  No.  132 
Main  Street,  which  is  still  being  conducted  by  his  estate,  and  is  pop- 
ularly known  as  the  Geiger  Market. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Lucy  Heiman,  a  native  of  Sheldon,  Wy- 
oming county,  on  April  27,  1875.  vSix  sons  and  three  daughters  were 
born  to  them  of  which  all  except  two  sons  are  living,  they  having 
died  in  infancy.  Clara,  the  eldest  daughter,  was  married  Sept.  26, 
1900,  to  Edward  D.  Snyder,  the  progressive  proprietor  and  owner  of 
the  Snyder  Fountain  Roller  Mills,  located  at  Williamsville,  N.  Y. 
One  daughter,  Levancha  Lucy,  has  blessed  this  union.  Herman  F., 
the  eldest  son,  is  the  capable  manager  of  the  market.  Bertha,  Otto, 
Mary,  Frederic,  and  Albinus  are  the  remaining  members  of  this 
family  and  all  reside  at  home.  Mr.  Geiger  received  the  injury  which 
terminated  in  his  death,  July  31,  1901.  Everything  possible  was 
done  to  save  his  life  but  the  end  came  suddenly  on  the  eve  of  Aug.  9. 
Successful  as  a  man  of  business,  and  surrounded  by  many  comforts 
and  a  devoted  family,  Mr.  Geiger  looked  forward  to  many  happy 
years.  Though  many  will  continue  to  mourn  because  of  his  sudden 
departure  from  this  earth,  his  good  works  and  noble  example  will 
continue  to  live  in  the  hearts  of  his  many  friends. 


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PETEB.   GEIGER 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


217 


Benjamin  P.  Andrews 

Benjamin  P.  Andrews  is  a  man  who  delii^hts  to  di-votc  his  talent 
and  eneroy  to  the  advancement  of  the  town  in  which  he  lives.  The 
village  of  Dansville  has  no  more  public  spirited  citizen  than  he.  In 
fact  he  is  one  of  the  men  who  have  made  the  village  what  it  is  today, 
having  been  instrumental  in  forming  the  \'illage  Improvement  society 
and  in  developing  Central  and  Elm  parks.  All  other  movements  for 
the  civic  or  physical  betterment  of  Dansville  receive  his  earnest  assist- 
ance. A  highly  educated  gentleman  himself,  he  has  taken  especial 
interest  in  the  work  of  public  education  and  has  given  much  time  to 
the  organizing  and  building  up  of  the  splendid  public  library  of  this 
village. 


RESIDENCE,   DR.   B.   P.  ANDREWS 


Dr.  Andrews  came  to  Dansville  in  1877  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  having  graduated  from  the  New  York  Homeopathic  Aledical 
college  and  received  his  medical  degree  and  license  to  practice  the 
same  year.  He  is  a  native  of  Preston,  Chenango  county,  N.  Y.,  his 
birth  occurring  August  19,  1856.  His  parents,  Nelson  and  Elizabeth 
(Williams)  Andrews,  descended  from  old  colonial  stock  which  became 
identified  with  America  in  its  time  of  greatest  dependence.  Two  of 
his  great-grandfathers  fought  during  the  Revolution.  It  was  in  the 
public  schools  and  Oxford  Academy  that  he  received  his  early  educa- 
tion and  was  awarded  his  academic  diploma  in  1.S74. 


218  BIOGRAPHICAL 

After  three  years'  successful  practice  in  Dansville  Doctor  Andrews 
returned  to  Oxford,  N.  Y. ,  and  married  Miss  Jane  M.  Davidson  who 
became  a  most  welcome  addition  to  the  social  life  of  the  village.  The 
only  child,  Edith  Elizabeth,  has  recently  graduated  from  Rochester 
High  school  and  is  now  entering  upon  a  college  career  at  Mt.  Holyoke. 
The  handsome  residence  here  illustrated  was  built  in  1889. 

Doctor  Andrews  takes  a  deep  interest  in  his  profession,  giving 
nearly  all  of  his  time  and  talent  to  promoting  the  speedy  recovery  of 
the  many  who  seek  relief  through  the  agencies  at  his  command.  He 
is  an  active  member  of  both  county  and  State  medical  societies. 

CHa.rles  H.  Rowe 

Charles  H.  Rowe,  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  Dansville,  N.  Y., 
and  district  attorney  of  Livingston  county  for  the  past  six  years,  is  a 
grandson  of  JCrhard  Rowe,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  part  of  the 
State,  who  reared  a  family  of  sixteen  children,  and  died  in  the  town 
of  Sparta  ac  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-seven.  Mr.  Rowe's  father, 
George  Rowe,  died  in  Dansville  in  1895,  age  seventy-nine;  and  his 
mother,  Sarah  Rowe,  is  still  living  here  at  the  age  of  eighty-three. 

Mr.  Rowe  was  born  on  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Springwater,  but  moved 
to  Dansville  when  he  was  thirteen  years  old.  After  completing  the 
course  and  graduating  from  the  Dansville  Seminary,  he  took  a  year's 
collegiate  course  at  Cook  Academy  in  1876.  At  this  time  Mr.  Rowe, 
however,  abandoned  the  idea  of  a  college  course,  and  immediately 
commenced  the  reading  of  law,  at  first  with  Judge  John  A.  VanDerlip, 
and  later  with  Noyes  &  Hedges.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  Janu- 
ary 17,  1879,  and  at  once  began  practice  in  Dansville,  which  he  has 
continued  to  the  present  time.  For  the  past  six  years  Mr.  Rowe  has 
been  much  occupied  with  his  duties  as  district  attorney  of  Living- 
ston county,  a  position  to  which  he  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1896  by 
the  Republicans  of  the  district.  It  is  a  gratifying  evidence  of  his 
popularity  in  the  county,  and  of  his  recognized  fitness  for  the  office, 
that  he  received  at  that  time  a  larger  number  of  votes  than  the  candi- 
date for  any  other  office,  either  national,  state  or  county.  During  his 
incumbency  of  that  office  he  has  conducted  successfully  many  of  the 
most  important  criminal  cases  in  the  history  of  the  county.  In  addi- 
tion to  fulfilling  the  duties  of  this  office,  Mr.  Rowe  has  been  busily 
engaged  during  the  last  three  years  as  acting  surrogate  of  Livingston 
county,  many  very  important  will  and  other  contests  having  been  tried 
before  him  in  that  capacity;  and  in  this  office  he  has  given  that  same 
general  satisfaction  as  has  characterized  his  conduct  in  the  office  of 
prosecuting  attorney.  At  the  time  of  entering  upon  his  duties  as 
county  official  he  was  already  well  known  in  public  life  in  Dansville, 
where  he  had  filled  several  important  offices.  In  May,  1890,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Harrison  postmaster  of  the  village,  and  served 
until  July  31,  1894,  during  that  time  creating  many  reforms  in  the 
service,  and  establishing  the  postoffice,  which  is  one  of  Dansville's 
prides,  in  its  present  location.  He  had  been  three  times  elected  as 
justice  of  the  peace  and  once  trustee  of  the  village  on  an  appreciable 


CHARLES    H.   B.OWE 


220 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


minority  ticlcet,  and  in  1895  acted  as  corporation  counsel  of  Dansville. 
Since  his  election  as  district  attorney  he  hag  displayed  the  same  zeal, 
ability  and  faithfulness  in  managing  the  legal  affairs  of  the  county 
that  he  has  always  shown  in  guarding  the  interests  of  his  clients. 

Mr.  Rowe  has  been  an  active  member  of  the  Protective  Fire  corn- 
pan)'  of  Dansville  ever  since  its  organization,  and  has  filled  success- 
fully all  the  different  offices  of  that  company,  as  well  as  in  the  local  fire 
department.     He  is  an  Odd  Fellow,  Red  Man,  Elk,  Maccabee,  as  well 


RESIDENCE.    CHARLES   H.    ROWE 


as  a  member  of  the  State  Bar  Association  and  the  Rochester  Whist 
club,  and  attends  St.  Peter's  church,  Dansville,  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  vestry.  His  political  success  as  a  Republican  in  a  Demo- 
cratic town  is  only  one  evidence  of  his  popularity,  due  to  his  agreeable 
personal  qualities  and  general  high  standing  in  the  community.  Mr. 
Rowe  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  district  attorney  of  the  county, 
having  been  renominated  for  that  office  in  1899  by  a  convention  of  his 
party,  and  without  a  dissenting  vote  of  any  of  its  delegates. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


221 


Miller  H.  Fowler 


i\[iller  H.  Fowler,  publisher  and  proprietor  of  the  Dansvillc  Breeze 
has  been    a    resident    of    this    village    for   over 
tiiry.      He   was  born    in  Springwater,  N.  \ 


a    quarter    of    a    cen- 
September  2'»,  l.S()2,  re- 


moving  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  four  years  to  Wa viand,  N.  Y 
where  he  remained  until  1.S74.  Lima,  N.  Y.  next  claimed  him  as 
resident,  and  in  1S7(>,  Dansville  became  his  home. 


MILLER    H.    rOWLER 


His  father  Thomas  ^I.  Fowler,  was  a  man  possessed  of  many  ad- 
mirable traits  of  mind  and  character,  a  successful  politician  and  pro- 
gressive merchant.  For  two  terms,  1872  to  1874,  he  represented 
Steuben  county  in  the  State  Legislature.  During  his  residence  in 
Dansville,  which  continued  to  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was  engaged  in 
the  dry  goods  business.  The  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Harriet 
G.  Everett,  still  resides  here  with  her  son,  G.  G.  Fowler. 

Starting  in  life  with  priceless  qualities  of  mind  and  character  in- 
herited from  a  long  line  of  worthy  ancestors,  J\Ir.  Fowler  followed  up 
this  advantage  by  securing  a  good  business  education.  In  addition  to 
the  public  school  he  attended    the    Dansville    and    (Sencsee    AVeslcyan 


222 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


seminaries.  At  the  comparativel}^  youthful  age  of  thirteen  years,  he 
became  interested  in  the  art  of  printing,  and  a  few  years  later  opened 
a  job  printing  office  in  D'ansville.  During  the  year  1883  he  estab- 
lished, with  Joseph  W.  Burgess  as  partner,  the  Dansville  Breeze, 
which  has  fast  developed  into  one  of  the  best  country  weeklies  in  New 
York  State,  from  both  typographical  and  literary  standpoints. 


RESIDENCE,  M.   H.   FOWLER 


Mr.  Fowler  was  married  in  1885  to  Minnie  A.  Lemen,  daughter  of 
Archibald  Lemen,  who  was  one  of  Dansville's  oldest  and  most  re- 
spected citizens.  He  died  in  1899.  Mr.  Fowler  is  an  exceedingly 
busy  man,  devoting  himself  heart  and  soul  to  the  interest  of  his  pa- 
trons and  the  constituency  of  his  newspaper,  preferring  this  method 
of  confining  his  energies,  to  seeking  prominence  in  social  or  political 
organizations. 

A  son,  Harold  G.,  a  student  of  the  High  school  and  dealer  in  foreign 
and  American  stamps,  is  the  only  child. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


223 


Walter  E.  Gregory 


WALTER   E.    GREGORY 


Walter  Eugene  Gregory,  M. 
D.,  one  of  the  managing  physi- 
cians of  the  Jackson  Sanatorium 
of  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  was  born  in 
Reedsburg,  Wis.,  on  Sept.  18, 
1857.  Dr.  Gregory's  father,  was 
a  native  of  Ashtabula,  Ohio,  in 
which  town  Ezra  Gregory,  his 
grandfather,  was  also  born.  At 
the  age  of  thirty-five  Ezra  moved 
to  Wisconsin,  where  he  lived  un- 
til his  death.  He  reared  a  family 
of  seven  children,  two  of  whom 
followed  the  medical  profession, 
and  one  was  killed  at  Chalk  Bluff, 
Mo.,  during  the  Rebellion. 

Walter  E.  Gregory  attended  in 
his  childhood  the  graded  schools 
in  Missouri,  and  on  returning  to 
Wisconsin,  at  the  age  of  si.xteen, 
C(5ntinued  his  studies  in  the  dis- 
trict school  where  he  prepared  for 
the  high  school  course,  which 
was  completed  in  his  twenty-first 
year.  Failing  in  health  in  1882  he  came  to  The  Jackson  Sana- 
torium where  twenty-five  years  before,  his  uncle,  Levi  Cottington, 
had  been  restored  to  health.  Putting  himself  under  the  care  of  Dr. 
James  H.  Jackson,  he  faithfully  followed  the  directions  laid  down  for 
him,  and  in  si.\  months  was  able  to  engage  in  some  light  employment, 
from  that  time  making  himself  useful  wherever  he  was  needed 
until  after  the  fire  of  1882,  when  he  became  superintendent  in  the 
business  ofifice.  In  1886  he  entered  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
University  of  Buffalo,  graduating  in  1889  on  the  honor  roll.  In 
April,  1889,  he  married  Miss  Helen  C.  Davis,  of  St.  Andrews, 
Quebec,  Canada,  and  at  once  became  a  member  of  the  staff  of 
physicians  at  The  Jackson  Sanatorium.  Dr.  Gregory  comes  of  a  fam- 
ily of  physicians,  two  of  his  father's  brothers,  and  one  of  his  mother's 
being  well  known  physicians  in  the  West.  The  same  year  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Gregory  became  stockholders  and  directors  in  what  was  then 
known  as  Our  Home  Hygienic  Institute,  and  they  have  since  been  ac- 
tive coadjutors  of  Dr.  Jackson.  Mrs.  Gregory,  as  Miss  Helen  C. 
Davis,  came  to  the  Sanatorium  in  the  autumn  of  '81,  and  in  the  spring 
of  '82  became  cashier,  a  position  she  held  until  appointed  treasurer 
which  office  she  now  holds.  Mrs.  Gregory  has  for  several  years  suc- 
cessfully conducted  classes  in  the  Delsarte  system  of  physical  culture. 
Cherry  Knoll  situated  a  little  to  the  south  and  east  of  the  Sanatorium 
is  the  home  of  Dr.  Gregory.  Beatrice  H.  Gregory  is  the  other  mem- 
ber of  the  family,  the  little  girl  making  her  own  history  in  study  ^  in 
the  High  school  in  music,  work  and  play. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  225 

THe  Dyer  Family 

The  Dyer  family  is  of  old  English  stock.  William  and  Mary  Dyer 
came  to  America  in  1620  and  settled  in  Rhode  Island.  A  few  years 
after  reaching  their  new  home,  William  Dyer  together  with  Roger 
Williams  and  sixteen  others,  formed  a  company,  which  was  incor- 
porated, and  purchased  the  state  of  Rhode  Island.  Mary,  daughter  of 
William  Dyer,  who  was  accused  of  witchcraft  after  she  had  become  a 
Quaker,  was  hanged  on  Boston  Common  in  the  year  1660.  Later 
some  of  the  family  moved  to  Vermont  and  among  them  were  Elisha 
and  Solon  Dyer  who  settled  near  Rutland.  Solon  Dyer  had  a  family 
of  twelve  children;  Elisha,  the  eldest,  died  in  New  Orleans  during 
the  cholera  epidemic  in  1832.  Horatio,  the  second  son, 
was  born  in  Rutland,  Vermont,  in  1805.  He  received  a 
good  business  education  in  his  youth  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  went 
to  Warsaw,  N.  Y.,  and  took  charge  of  the  store  of  Augustus  Frank, 
who  had  large  dealings  with  the  Indians,  and  was  afterwards  asso- 
ciated with  Mr.  Ayrault  of  Castile,  both  well  known  business  men. 
In  1828,  Mr.  Dyer  removed  to  Springwater,  N.  Y.,  and  formed  a  co- 
partnership under  the  firm  name  of  Dyer  &  Wells,  doing  a  general 
mercantile  business.  After  four  years  Mr.  Dyer  became  sole  pro- 
prietor and  conducted  the  largest  mercantile  business  in  that  part  of 
the  county.  He  was  also  interested  in  agriculture  and  purchased 
farming  lands  which  were  an  additional  source  of  profit.  In  1830  Mr. 
Dyer  was  married  to  Electa  Ann  Southworth,  daughter  of  Alva  South- 
worth  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Ontario  county.  Four  children  were 
born  to  them;  Mary  Lois,  Solon  Southworth,  Horatio  Franklin  and 
Caroline  Electa.  In  1864  Mr.  Dyer  moved  to  Dansville  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  occurred  the  death  of  Mrs.  Dyer. 

Having  retired  from  active  business,  he  still  retained  a  keen  interest 
in  everything  pertaining  to  it.  In  1868  he  purchased  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Dyer  block.  His  mind  was  stored  with  information 
drawn  from  careful  reading  and  he  was  especially  interested  in 
American  history  and  the  march  of  political  events.  His  truthfulness 
and  integrity  were  beyond  question  and  his  genial  presence  was  every- 
where welcome.  He  found  his  chief  pleasure  in  the  tender  devotion 
and  companionship  of  his  family  where  he  was  the  trusted  and  be- 
loved  counselor  and  guide.     His  death  occurred  November  26,    1880. 

Solon  Southworth  Dyer  was  born  in  Springwater,  N.  Y.,  August, 
30,  1835.  He  was  educated  at  Temple  Hill  Academy,  Geneseo.  For 
some  years  he  had  charge  of  his  father's  extensive  agricultural  inter- 
ests and  in  1864  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Dyer,  Austin  &  Co., 
dry  goods  merchants  of  Dansville.  After  four  years  of  successful 
business  he  retired  from  that  firm  and  formed  a  co-partnership  with 
his  brother  Horatio  F.,  under  the  firm  name  of  Dyer  Brothers.  They 
opened  a  store  in  the  block  recently  purchased,  for  the  sale  of  dry- 
goods  and  carpets.  The  business  has  continued  uninterruptedly  ever 
since,  enjoying  the  confidence  and  patronage  of  the  people. 

Horatio  Franklin  Dyer  was  born  in  Springwater,  N.  Y. ,  May  4, 
1838.  He  attended  Lima  Seminary,  was  graduated  from  the  Albany 
Law  School  and  admitted  to  practice  in  the  State  courts  in  1862. 
The  following  year  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  United    States 


228  BIOGRAPHICAL 

courts  and  was  engaged  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Sherman  S.  Rogers  of 
Buffalo.  In  1868  he  became  one  of  the  firm  of  D3'er  Brothers,  and  in 
conducting  the  business  his  law  experience  has  been  of  great  value. 
In  1872  he  was  married  to  Julia  Elizabeth  Denio,  daughter  of  Israel 
Denio  of  Rome,  N.  Y.,  and  niece  of  Hon.  Hiram  Denio,  chief  justice 
of  the  court  of  appeals  of  New  York.  Three  children  have  been  born 
to  them ;  Grace  Denio,  Robert  Franklin  and  Annie  Louise.  Mr. 
Dyer  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
of  Dansville,  and  has  served  several  terms  as  president  of  the  board. 
He  was  one  of  the  building  committee  who  had  charge  of  tne  con- 
struction of  the  present  edifice.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of 
education  and  a  director  of  the  Citizens  Bank. 

The  Dyer  Brothers  have  contributed  liberally  of  their  resources 
towards  promoting  and  advancing  the  general  welfare  of  the  town 
and  occupy  a  foremost  position  of  trust  and  honor  both  as  merchants 
and  as  citizens. 


^   ^' 


CHarles   C.  VeitH 

Charles  C.  Veith,  a  well  known  pharmacist  and  one  of  Dansville's 
most  respected  citizens,  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  drug 
business  in  this  part  of  Livingston  county  for  over  sixteen  years.  He 
was  born  at  Dansville,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  has  always  lived  and  where  his 
many  and  versatile  talents  render  him  deservedly  popular  among  all 
classes.  His  birth  occurred  May  10,  1865.  His  father,  J.  William 
Veith,  was  born  at  Baden,  Landshausen,  Germany,  May  21,  1839,  and 
came  to  this  country  in  1855.  His  mother,  Mary  M.  (Haben)  Veith, 
was  born  at  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  July  24,  1841.  Both  parents  are  still 
living.  Charles  C.  received  his  early  education  at  St.  Mary's  paroch- 
ial school  and  the  Dansville  Seminary.  September  23,  1886,  he  en- 
tered into  copartnership  with  F.  D.  Horton,  and  October  2,  18881  be- 
came sole  proprietor  of  the  same  drug  establishment.  Mr.  Veith  was 
married  in  1889  to  Miss  Mary  S.  Kramer,  daughter  of  John  J.  Kramer, 
a  highly  esteemed  resident  of  Dansville,  N.  Y.  She  died  March  6,' 
1902,  after  a  short  illness.  Her  bright,  winning  character  and  ever 
cheerful  disposition  attracted  to  her  many  friends,  while  her  w,hole 
hearted  devotion  to  the  members  of  her  family  enhanced  the  charm  of 
her  personality.  The  three  daughters  and  one  son  are  named  respect- 
ively: Virginia  M.,  Katherine  M.,  A.  Doratha,  and  C.  Benjamin. 

Mr.  Veith  has  always  been  highly  regarded  by  his  fellow  citizens 
as  a  progressive  business  man  and  for  his  many  engaging  personal 
qualities  which  have  won  him  many  friends  and  admirers.  He  has 
been  town  auditor  since  1899.  His  political  sentiments  are  democrat- 
ic. He  is  an  honorary  member  of  the  Protectives  No.  1  fire  company 
and  is  also  identified  with  the  local  orders  of  Red  Men  and  Macca- 
bees. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


229 


Benjamin  Firney  ReadsKaw 

For  more  than  three  score 
years,  the  Readshaw  family  has 
been  identified  with  the  best  in- 
terests of  Dansville  and  repre- 
sentatives by  this  name  have 
made  it  synonymous  with  every- 
thing that  signifies  good  citizen- 
ship. Benjamin  Firney  Read- 
shaw, who  came  to  Dansville  in 
1840,  was  born  at  Athy,  County 
jl^i^lj^N  -  ^"^^l^^B  of  Kildare,  Ireland,  February 
jpLpM—^  ^^H  26,  1813   and  emigrated  to  this 

^•e^  ^^H  country  with  his  parents  at  the 

age  of  twelve  years.  For  a  littlfe 
while  his  home  was  at  Wadding- 
ton,  St.  Lawrence  county, 
whence  he  removed  to  Roches- 
ter, N.  Y.,  where  at  the  compar- 
atively youthful  age  of  eighteen 
he  took  complete  charge  of  Har- 
vey Ely's  large  mill  at  the  east 
end  of  the  aqueduct.  Returning 
to  Rochester  in  1843,  he  only 
staid  a  few  years  when  Dans- 
ville again  claimed  him  as  a 
citizen,  and  the  remainder  of 
his  useful  life  was  spent  among 
her  boundaries.  As  the  oldest  son  in  a  large  family,  he  was 
compelled  at  an  early  age  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  his 
parents  and  growing  brothers  and  sisters.  He  made  the  most  of 
his  scant  advantages  to  secure  an  education,  however,  and  became 
a  good  penman  and  accountant  and  well  informed  on  all  topics 
of  interest  which  agitated  the  minds  of  the  people  of  his  day. 
Like  his  father,  grandfather  and  great-grandfather,  he  became  ah 
adept  at  the  milling  business,  and  was  looked  up  to  and  consulted  as 
an  authority  on  all  subjects  relating  to  the  old  style  of  milling.  He 
was  one  of  the  old  school  and  a  perfect  master  of  the  art  as  it  was 
then  understood.  He  had  retired  from  active  duty  as  a  miller  when 
the  new  style  or  "roller  process"  superseded  the  old  method  of  stone 
grinding.  An  exceptional  and  important,  as  well  as  most  memorable, 
epoch  in  his  career  was  the  manufacture  of  cereal  products  for  table 
use,  and  he  is  generally  conceded  to  have  been  the  pioneer  in  this  in- 
dustry now  being  prosecuted  on  such  a  mammoth  scale  in  all  parts  of 
the  civilized  world.  He  was  married  February  4,  1844,  at  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  to  Phoebe  Grant  Hills  of  Oneida,  Madison  Co.,  N.  Y.,  who  was 
the  mother  of  three  sons  and  three  daughters  and  who  died  Decem- 
ber 5,  1894.  The  following  children  and  grandchildren  are  now  living 
in  Dansville:  Edmund  H.  Readshaw,  Mrs.  Harriet  R.  Browne,  Ben- 
jamin G.  Readshaw,  Alice  F.  Readshaw,  M.  Pierre  Browne,  Anita  F. 
Browne.     Mr.  Readshaw  was  a  strong  Presbyterian  by  faith  and    en- 


BENJAMIN  FINNEY   READSHAW 


230 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


deavored  to  live  strictly  according  to  the  divine  law.  His  political 
sentiments  caused  him  to  become  strongly  affiliated  with  the  re- 
publican party.  A  courageous,  zealous,  and  straightforward  man  of 
business,  a  generous  and  warmhearted  friend  and  parent,  he  closed 
a  long  and  useful  career,  having  completed  the  allotted  three  score 
and  ten,  but  the  influence  of  his  strong  personality  will  continue  to 
-be  exerted  on  the  present  and  many  succeeding  generations. 

CHarles  W.  Denton 

Charles  W.  Denton  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Ossian,  in  1858. 
Mr.  Denton's  father,  Jonas  Den- 
ton, was  born  also  in  Ossian,  of 
parents  who  were  among  the 
very  first  settlers  of  that  town. 
His  mother  whose  maiden 
name  was  Mary  R.  Wood, 
was  born  in  Dansville.  His 
father  being  a  farmer,  Mr. 
Denton  remained  at  home, 
working  on  the  farm  summers 
and  attending  district  school 
winters  until  the  age  eighteen, 
when  he  began  attending  the 
Dansville  Seminary.  Attending 
school  during  the  fall  term  and 
teaching  the  following  winter, 
Mr.  Denton  thus  spent  three 
years.  After  leaving  school  he 
took  up  farming,  continued  to 
teach  winters  until  fifteen  tenns 
had  been  completed.  In  1892 
Mr.  Denton  moved  from  Ossian 
to  Dansville  and  opened  a  meat 
market.  Having  conducted  the 
market  for  three  years,  he  sold  it  and  entered  the  Williams  &  Go's 
large  Flouring  Mills,  at  the  foot  of  South  street,  of  which  for  the  past 
five  years  he  has  been  superintendent.  Mr.  Denton  was  married  in 
1883  to  Jane  Elizabeth  Bonner  of  Ossian.  Two  children  were  born  to 
them,  Benjamin  and  Minnie,  who  reside  with  their  parents.  Mr. 
Denton,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Dansville,  has  been  an 
elder  for  the  past  two  years.  Politically  a  democrat,  he  has  served  as 
town  clerk,  highway  commissioner  and  supervisor,  receiving  at  his 
second  election  as  commissioner,  the  highest  majority  ever  given  in 
Ossian.  He  was  the  first  democratic  supervisor  of  the  town,  after  a 
long  period  of  republican  control.  During  his  residence  in  Dans- 
ville, Mr.  Denton  has  served  two  years  on  the  board  of  village  trus- 
tees and  was  recently  appointed  town  collector  to  succeed  James  Mur- 
dock  deceased.  Fraternally,  Mr.  Denton  is  a  mason;  having  joined 
that  organization  at  the  age  of  twenty-one. 


CHARLES  W.  DENTON 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


231 


George  C.  Brag(don 


Mr.  Bragdon's  residence  in 
Dansville  for  about  four  years 
and  the  stimulus  his  presence 
and  work  lent  to  the  literary 
atmosphere  of  the  village,  en- 
title him  to  cordial  and  com- 
mendatory record  in  this  his- 
tory, on  which  he  has  done 
much  excellent  writing,  here- 
by gratefully  acknowledged. 
Mr.  Bragdon  was  an  editor- 
ial writer  on  the  Dansville 
Advertiser  from  April,  1873, 
until  the  fall  of  1874,  for  two 
and  a  half  years  from  Janu- 
ary, 1877,  and  for  short  pe- 
riods in  1880  and  1899.  In 
his  earliest  years  here  Mr. 
Bragdon  was  the  originator 
of  and  the  strongest  force  in 
the  Coterie,  the  most  success- 
ful of  local  literary  societies 
from  the  organization  of  the 
Dansville  Polemic  Society  in 
1811  to  the  present  time. 
i\Ir.  Bragdon  was  born  on 
a  farm  in  Oswego  county,  April  29,  1832,  was  educated  in  Falley  Sem- 
inary and  Union  College  (class  of  '56),  and  after  leaving  college,  taught 
school  for  some  years.  In  1860  he  was  married  in  Oberlin,  Ohio,  to 
Miss  Katherine  E.  Shipherd,  a  woman  of  fine  literary  ability,  the 
daughter  of  a  Congregational  clergyman.  A  daughter  and  son  blessed 
this  union.  The  son,  Claude  Fayette  Bragdon,  has  won  fame  as  an 
architect  and  writer  on  architectui-e.  In  March,  1861,  Mr.  Bragdon 
commenced  work  in  his  chosen  profession  as  editor  of  the  Watertown 
Daily  News.  He  was  subsequently  city  editor  of  the  Utica  Morning 
Herald,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Adams  Journal,  the  Ithacan,  the 
Ithaca  Journal  the  Watertown  Post  and  the  associate  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Financier,  the  last  named  paper  being  published  in  New 
York  city.  All  through  life  he  has  contributed  to  magazines  and  other 
periodicals,  prose  and  poetry  of  great  literary  excellence,  and  has 
written  some  stories.  Mr.  Bragdon  delivered  the  annual  poem  before 
the  New  York  Press  Association  in  1872  at  Watertown  on  the  notable 
occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  Southern  editors.  In  1869  he  wrote  a  com- 
prehensive description  of  the  more  picturesque  features  of  the  fifteen 
or  twenty  glens  of  the  region  around  Ithaca,  entitled  Glens  of  Ithaca 
and  Vicinity,  which  was  published  in  the  Ithacan  and  afterward,  in 
part,  in  a  guide  book.  He  also  wrote  descriptive  pamphlets  of  the 
Thousand  Islands  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  rare  sketches  of  various 
other  parts  of  the  Empire  State.   His  numerous  poems  have  been  writ- 


GEORGE   C.   BRAGDON 


233  BIOGRAPHICAL 

ten  in  the  intervals  of  a  busy  life.  Some  of  them  have  been  published  in 
book  form,  some  have  been  widely  copied  by  the  press,  and  a  few  of 
them  may  be  found  in  recent  anthologies.  Mr.  Bragdon  has  been  a 
resident  of  Rochester  for  the  past  eighteen  years.  Plis  latest  work 
there  has  been  as  editor  and  writer  of  the  historical  compend  of  the 
Notable  Men  of  Rochester  and  Vicinity,  published  this  year.  Mr. 
Bragdon  has  read  widely  and  is  conversant  with  the  best  literature. 
He  has  also  enjoyed  the  personal  acquaintance  and  friendship  of  many 
of  the  distinguished  litterateurs  of  his  day.  His  writings  and  his 
rare  conversational  powers  reveal  this  intimacy,  and  his  appreciation 
of  and  sympathy  with  the  best  and  broadest  minds  of  the  past  and 
present. 

Jatnes  £.  Crisfield 

James  E.  Crisfield,  M.  D.,  of  Dansville,  a  leading  physician  of  Liv- 
ingston county,  N.  Y. ,  was  born  at  Lodi,  Seneca  county,  N.  Y. , 
August  6,  1851,  son  of  John  Crisfield,  a  native  of  Queen  Anne's 
county,  Maryland.  John  Crisfield  was  born  March  4,  1805,  and  he 
and  his  brother  Edward  were  quite  young  when  after  the  death  of 
their  father,  who  was  an  extensive  slave  owner,  their  widowed  mother 
liberated  the  slaves,  came  north,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Seneca 
county. 

John  Crisfield  married  Lovina  Wamsley,  who  was  born  in  Seneca 
county,  where  her  father,  William  A.,  was  a  pioneer  and  farmer,  and 
remained  a  resident  there  until  his  decease.  She  was  one  of  a  large 
family,  and  she  and  her  husband  reared  five  children;  Gilbert,  Philip, 
Louisa,  Henrietta  and  James  E.  Dr.  Crisfield's  parents  possessed 
many  rare  qualities,  being  high-minded  and  conscientious  people, 
whose  active  lives  were  productive  of  much  good.  They  were  both 
members  of  the  Methodist  church,  of  which  Mr.  Crisfield  was  a  trus- 
tee for  many  years.  He  was  seventy-six  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
his  wife  reached  the  same  age. 

The  boyhood  of  James  E.  Crisfield  was  passed  upon  his  father's 
farm,  during  which  time  he  attended  the  district  schoote.  At  the  age 
of  fourteen  he  went  to  Lima  and  attended  the  Genesee  Wesleyan 
Seminary,  where  he  prepared  for  college,  which  he  entered  later, 
remaining  through  his  junior  year.  The  college  being  then  removed 
to  Syracuse,  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  John  W.  Gray, 
of  Avon,  N.  Y.,  later  entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
in  New  York  city,  and  was  graduated  from  this  famous  medical 
school  in  1873.  He  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  the  same 
year  at  York,  but,  after  remaining  there  three  months,  came  directly 
from  that  place  to  Dansville,  where  he  has  attained  a  large  and 
lucrative  practice.  He  is  next  to  the  oldest  practitioner  in  Livingston 
county.  Dr.  Perine,  a  sketch  of  whose  career  appears  elsewhere,  be- 
ing the  senior. 

Dr.  Crisfield  is  a  member  of  the  New  York  State  Medical  Society,  the 
Medical  Society  of  Western  New  York  and  of  the  Livingston  County 
Medical  Society,  of  which  he  has  been  presidenti     He  takes  an  active 


234 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


interest  in  fraternal  matters  being  prominently  identified  with  the 
Elks,  Odd  Fellows,  Masons,  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  and  Commandery 
at  Hornellsville.  He  is  also  vice  president  of  the  recently  organized 
Mill  Creek  and  Electric  Light  and  Power  Co.,  and  is  one  of  the  in- 
corporators of  the  Brae  Burn  Golf  Club.  He  manifests  a  lively  in- 
terest in  political  matters,  being  a  strong  Democrat,  having  been  a 
member  of  the  county  committee  many  years,  and  having  served  as 
a  delegate  to  the  State  Convention,  and  is  now  a  Democratic  State 
committeeman.  He  has  served  several  terms  as  a  trustee  of  the 
village,  president  of  the  board,  and  four  years  as  supervisor  of  the 
town.  He  was  presidential  elector  from  the  district  in  1892,  and  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  postmaster  of  Dansville  for  four  years, 
having  assumed  his  duties  October  1,   1894. 

Dr.  Crisfield  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Gray,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren; Abbie  and  Louise.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Crisfield  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Having  always  faithfully  discharged  his  ardu- 
ous duties,  both  professional  and  public.  Dr.  Crisfield  enjoys  a  well- 
earned  reputation  as  an  experienced  and  skillful  physician,  while  his 
kindness  and  never  failing  courtesy  have  contributed  to  win  for  him 
the  esteem  and  good  will  of  his  fellow  townspeople.  The  accompany- 
ing portrait  of  James  E.  Crisfield,  M.  D.,  will  be  recognized  and 
appreciated  by  many  warm  friends. 


RESIDENCE.   DR.  JAMES    L.   CRISFIELD 


BIOGRA  PHICA  L  235 


F.  A.  Owen 

Frederick  Augustus  Owen  was  born  at  South  Dansville,  N.  Y. , 
March  22,  18(>7,  being  the  oldest  boy  in  a  family  of  seven  children. 
His  father  was  Stephen  H.  Owen  who  was  of  Welsh  descent  and  a 
man  of  inventive  turn  of  mind.  His  mother  was  Mary  (Root)  Owen, 
now  Mrs.  Charles  P.  Graves  of  this  place,  who  is  of  English  extrac- 
tion and  a  woman  of  strong  energy  and  persistent  character.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  therefore  possessed  by  inheritance  of  those 
qualities  of  character  which  enable  him  not  only  to  devise,  but  to 
execute  plans,  which  combined  faculty  so  few  men  possess. 

At  the  age  of  ten  years  the  death  of  his  father  and  the  humble  cir- 
cumstances of  the  family  compelled  him  to  leave  home  and  make  his  own 
way  in  the  world.  He  at  once  engaged  to  a  farmer  for  seven  months 
at  five  dollai's  a  month,  and  during  this  time  of  service,  the  distance 
being  so  great,  he  did  not  visit  his  home;  but  on  the  expiration  of  his 
time,  he  returned  home  and  laid  thirty-five  dollars  in  crisp,  new  bills 
in  his  mother's  lap.  Mr.  Owen  told  the  writer  several  years  ago  that 
this  was  one  of  the  happiest  moments  of  his  life.  He  immediately 
left  home  again  and  the  time  up  to  the  spring  of  1889  was  spent  in 
working  on  a  farm  summers  and  attending  or  teaching  school  winters. 
His  education  was  obtained  in  the  district  schools,  the  Rogersville 
Union  Seminary,  the  Hornellsville  Academy,  and  the  Lima  Seminary. 
From  none  of  these  institutions  was  he  graduated,  his  rather  desultory 
course  of  study  being  confined  to  those  subjects  of  a  general  and  prac- 
tical nature. 

In  the  spring  of  1889,  Mr.  Owen  engaged  the  old  Seminary  build- 
ing at  Rogersville  and  for  two  years  conducted  a  private  school.  This 
famous  old  school,  which  at  one  time  was  classed  among  the  best  in 
the  State,  had,  by  the  introduction  of  the  union  and  Normal  school 
systems,  gradually  lost  its  importance,  and  at  this  time  no  school  had 
been  held  there  for  a  number  of  years.  In  a  very  short  time,  how- 
ever, Mr.  Owen  succeeded  in  bringing  it  up  to  a  point  of  efficiency 
where  it  was  accorded  all  the  privileges  of  the  Regents.  Several  young 
men  and  women  were  fitted  for  teaching  under  his  tuition.  It  was 
while  organizing  this  private  school  that  he  conceived  the  idea  of  teach- 
ing by  correspondence.  This  method  of  instruction  in  late  years  has 
become  a  very  important  factor  in  the  American  system  of  education, 
and  has  lately  been  introduced  in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  Al- 
though Mr.  Owen's  system  was  antedated  by  the  University  Exten- 
sion and  the  Chautauqua  method,  it  was  the  first  to  correct  and  crit- 
icise the  individual  work  of  the  student,  and  therefore  entitles  him  to 
the  distinction  of  being  the  pioneer  in  correspondence  instruction.  It 
was  also  from  a  certain  few  books  of  the  old  Seminary  library  that 
he  obtained  the  theories  which  have  influenced  his  career  and  inspired 
him  to  his  life's  work. 

Mr.  Owen  was  married  on  November  28,  1889,  to  Nettie  V.  Master- 
man  of  South  Dansville,  from  which  marriage  two  children,  Helen 
and  Mary,  were  born.  This  marriage,  on  account  of  the  extreme  in- 
compatibility of  the  two  temperaments,  proved  to  be  an  unfortunate 
one,  and  after  a  few  years  of  unhappy  domestic  life,  by  mutual  agree- 
ment a  legal  separation  was  effected,  Mrs.  Owen  and  the  two  children 


y,  ^^    ^A^L^^sL^^^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


237 


moving  to  Rochester  which  city  has  since  been  her  home.  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  domestic  difficulty  and  of  overwork,  Mr.  Owen's  health 
completely  failed,  and  in  the  fall  of  1898  he  relinquished  all  busi- 
ness care  and  responsibility  for  a  period  of  two  years.  In  April, 
l')00,  his  health  having  been  regained,  he  again  assumed  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Instructor  Publishing  Company,  which  enterprise  was  in- 
stituted by  him  at  South  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  in  1889,  and  which  through 
his  efforts  has  grown  to  its  present  proportions,  without  the  aid  of 
capital  and  in  the  face  of  the  strongest  competition.  A  more  extend- 
ed sketch  of  this  enterprise  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  book.  On 
September  27,  1900,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Grace  Fenstermacher, 
who  is  descended  from  one  of  Dansville's  oldest  and  most  respected 
families,  and  their  domestic  life  though  simple  is  a  most  happy  one. 

As  a  business  man,   Mr.  Owen  possesses  a  strong  power  for  organiz- 
ing and  getting  results  from  his  employes.     In  fact  he  attributes  his 


RESIDENCE,  F.  A.  OWEN 


success  largely  to  his  discrimination  in  choosing  his  assistants  and 
inspiring  them  with  his  ideas  and  purposes.  The  high  character  of 
the  Instructor  Publishing  Company's  employes  as  a  whole  is  generally 
commented  upon,  and  the  relations  existing  among  them,  as  well  as 
those  between  employer  and  employe,  are  decidedly  agreeable. 

Besides  being  the  president  and  general  manager  of  the  Instructor 
Publishing  Company,  Mr.  Owen  is  a  director  and  officer  in  the 
Worden  Brothers  Monument  Mfg.  Co.,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the 
recent  incorporation  of  that  company.  His  latest  enterprise  was  the 
organizing  of  the  Mill  Creek  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company,  a 
corporation  composed  of  a  number  of  Dansville's  most  substantial  citi- 
zens for  the  purpose  of  exploiting  the  water  power  of  Mill  Creek  for 
electric   lighting   and    power   purposes.     This   stream   at  Dansville's 


238  BIOGRAPHICAL 

very  door  has  a  fall  of  five  hundred  feet  over  a  course  of  three  miles 
and  is  capable  of  producing  about  nine  hundred  horsepower.  It  was 
Mr.  Owen's  idea  to  pipe  the  stream  from  its  source  to  the  foot  of  the 
hill  and  convert  its  tremendous  force  into  electric  power.  For  this 
purpose  the  company  was  formed  and  contracts  have  already  been  com- 
pleted with  the  village  for  lighting  the  streets  and  with  most  of  the 
leading  industries  who  wish  to  use  the  cheaper  power.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  cheap  power  which  this  scheme  makes  possible  will  induce  many 
incipient  manufacturing  enterprises  to  locate  here  where  perhaps  all 
the  power  needed  by  each  for  years  to  come  can  be  secured  over  a 
single  wire. 

The  utilization  of  this  splendid  water  power  has  been  the  subject 
of  serious  thought  on  Mr.  Owen's  part  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
when  its  feasibility  had  once  been  pointed  out  it  was  so  apparent  that 
it  was  a  cause  of  wonder  that  it  had  not  been  discovered  before.  The 
plant  in  all  probability  will  be  in  running  order  by  August  1,  1903. 
The  discovery  and  turning  to  account  of  this  important  natural 
power  which  had  been  going  to  waste  for  so  many  years  is  only 
another  proof  of  Mr.  Owen's  ability  to  see  an  opportunity  and  turn  it 
to  some  useful  end. — Contributed  by  J.  L.   Wellington. 

Walter  Julius  BeecHer 

In  1806,  Parson  Beecher,  a  young  man  of  the  town  of  Salem  (now 
Naugatuck),  Connecticut,  joined  the  ranks  of  the  many  from  that  sec- 
tion looking  for  homes  in  "the  West,"  and  came  to  New  York  state. 
The  Catskill  and  Ithaca  Turnpike  was  then  being  laid  out,  and 
he  followed  the  proposed  line  of  that  road  as  far  as  Chenango  county. 
There  he  purchased  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  lying  high  on  the  hills 
between  the  Chenango  and  Susquehanna  rivers,  in  the  present  town 
of  Coventry,  and  near  where  a  neighbor  from  Connecticut  had  already 
located.  He  returned  home  and  in  January,  1808,  married  Margaret 
Porter.  This  Parson  Beecher  was  descended  from  the  first  of  that  name 
and  family  in  America,  who  came  with  the  Puritan  colony  which  found- 
ed New  Haven  in  1638.  His  wife,  also,  was  from  one  of  the  old  families 
of  the  young  commonwealth.  Her  father  was  Truman  Porter,  record- 
ed as  a  major  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  later  a  member  of  the 
Connecticut  Assembly.  The  eldest  son  of  this  union  and  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  Julius  Porter  Beecher,  born  October 
24,  1808.  In  the  spring  of  1809,  with  his  young  wife  and  child. 
Parson  Beecher  removed  to  his  new  home.  He  had  previously,  in 
1807,  made  another  trip  there,  cleared  land,  planted  crops  and  built 
a  house.  This  house  was  the  only  frame  structure  for  many  miles 
along  the  Catskill  turnpike,  which  soon  became  an  important  artery 
of  travel,  and  was  for  a  long  time  used  for  church,  town  meetings  and 
other  gatherings.  In  this  house  Walter  J.  Beecher  was  born  Septem- 
ber 16.  1855.  His  mother  was  Sarah  Ann  Stewart,  born  in  Greenwich, 
Washington  county,  N.  Y. ,  of  the  Scotch-Irish  people  numerously 
settled  there.  Julius  Beecher,  in  addition  to  farming — he  having 
taken  the  old  home  on  the  death  of  his  father  was  a  drover — and  coun- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  239 

try  merchant.  As  drover  he  made  trips  into  Ohio,  gathering  up  large 
herds  of  cattle  and  taking  them  through  on  foot  to  the  New  York 
market.  This  route  led  through  the  southern  tier  of  counties  of 
western  New  York.  He  thus  became  acquainted  with  that  section, 
and  being  attracted  by  the  apparent  advantages  offered  by  Wellsville, 
in  Allegany  county,  as  a  business  point  under  the  impetus  given  it  by 
the  completion  of  the  Erie  railroad, he  removed  to  ll  tt  \  illi  gt  inl8S9, 
engaging  in  lumbering,  milling  and  trade.  He  died  there  in  1887, 
and  his  wife  in  1891. 

In  that  village  the  subject  of  this  sketch  passed  his  youth  and  school 
days,  taking  advantage  of  the  educational  facilities  offered  there.  The 
course  of  study  was  not  so  advanced  but  that  he  was  able  to  finish  the 
school  in  the  summer  of  1870,  before  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  hav- 
ing added  somewhat  to  the  branches  taught  by  attending  classes  with 
an  outside  tutor.  Later  in  that  same  year  Mr.  Beecher  went  to  Lin- 
coln, Nebraska,  not  to  seek  his  fortune,  but  for  the  purpose  of  attending 
school.  An  older  brother  had  a  short  time  before  located  in  that  new 
city  where  the  State  University  was  situated  though  not  yet  in 
operation.  It  opened  its  doors  in  the  fall  of  1871,  and  Mr. 
Beecher  was  a  student  during  the  first  year  of  its  existence. 
Ciicumstances  compelled  him  to  give  up  school  just  as  he  was 
about  to  commence  the  second  year,  and  though  this  was 
thought  to  be  only  temporary,  it  proved  to  be  his  last  experience 
in  the  schoolroom.  He  then  spent  several  months  as  clerk  in  a  dry 
goods  store  in  Lincoln,  and  returned  to  his  home  in  Wellsville  in  1873. 
In  accordance  with  his  plans  he  entered  the  office  of  the  Wellsville 
"Times"  to  learn  the  printing  trade,  and  enjoyed  all  the  varied  experi- 
ences that  go  with  the  position  of  "printer's  devil."  In  1874  the 
"Times"  was  consolidated  with  the  "Allegany  County  Reporter, " 
with  a  stock  company  formed  for  its  publication  and  in  which  Mr. 
Beecher  was  advanced  to  an  official  position,  gaining  business  experi- 
ence and  throwing  on  him  considerable  responsibility.  The  business 
was  purchased  by  Enos  W.  Barnes  in  1875.  Mr.  Beecher  remained 
with  the  "Reporter"  until  1883,  performing  the  varied  duties  which 
belong  to  the  foreman,  office  manager  and  assistant  editor  of  a  busy 
village  paper.  The  "Daily  Reporter"  was  established  in  1881  and 
added  to  these  duties  measurably. 

In  January,  1883,  >]r.  Beecher,  in  company  with  the  late  William 
J.  Glenn,  then  a  printer  in  the  "Reporter"  office,  purchased  the 
"Patriot"  at  Cuba,  N.  Y. ,  forming  the  firm  of  Beecher  &  Glenn.  Mr. 
Beecher  was  editor  of  the  "Patriot"  for  four  years.  During  that  pe- 
riod the  paper  increased  largely  in  circulation  and  influence  and  took 
a  first  place  among  the  newspapers  of  the  county.  Always  a  Republi- 
can and  interested  in  public  affairs,  Mr.  Beecher  found  congenial  work 
in  the  advocacy  of  Republican  principles  and  the  support  of  Republi- 
can policies  and  candidates.  In  1887  he  sold  his  interest  in  the 
"Patriot."  It  was  with  no  intention  of  quitting  newspaper  work 
that  this  move  was  made,  but  to  take  advantage  of  opportunities 
which  seemed  to  be  opening  in  a  somewhat  broader  field.  These  failed 
to  materialize  and  Mr.  Beecher,  having  spent  fourteen  years  in  a  print- 
ing office,  was  willing  to  take  up  less  exacting  work.  For  three  years 
he  was  interested  in  life  insurance,  traveling  over  a  portion  of  western 


WALTER  J.  BEECHER 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


241 


New  York,  having,  with  a  partner,  the  general  agency  of  the 
Equitable  Life  at  Elraira.  Desiring  to  re-locate  at  his  old  home  in 
Wellsville,  where  his  mother  still  lived,  he  entered  in  1890  the  employ 
of  the  Empire  Novelty  Company,  manufacturers  of  advertising 
novelties,  installing  and  conducting  their  extensive  printing  plant. 
In  1892  he  came  to  Dansville  to  attend  to  the  advertising  of  the  E. 
M.  Parmelee  Medical  Co.,  at  that  time  manufacturers  of  proprietary 
articles,  and  was  connected  with  that  and  its  successor,  the  Parmelee 
Drug  Company,  until  its  business  was  moved  from  Dansville  in  July, 
1897.  In  the  meantime  the  "Normal  Instructor"  was  growing  into 
vigorous  proportions  and  was  about  to  move  into  its  new  building 
and    install  a  printing   plant.     Mr.  Beecher  entered  the  employ  of  the 

Teachers  Improvement 
Company,  its  then  pub- 
lishers, in  November, 
1896.  In  November, 
1898,  he  purchased  an 
interest  in  the  Company 
and  on  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Instructor 
Publishing  Company  in 
August,  1899,  became 
its  treasurer.  He  is  at 
present  vice  president 
of  the  company  and 
editor  of  its  publica- 
tions. He  is  also  one 
of  the  incorporators  and 
directors  of.  the  newly 
organized  Mill  Creek 
Electric  Light  and 
Power  Co. 

Mr.  Beecher  married 
in  September,  1898, 
Elizabeth  C.  Hoyt  of 
West  Pittston,  Pa.,  and 
they  have  one  child, 
Robert  Hoyt  Beecher. 
Their  home  "is  corner  of 
Seward  and  Cottage 
streets.  Mr.  Beecher  is  a  Presbyterian  in  his  church  relations,  a 
Republican  in  politics,  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  of  the 
Union  Hose  Club,  of  the  Maccabees,  and  a  trustee  of  the  Dansville 
Public  Library. 


RESIDENCE,  WALTER  J.  BEECHER 


242  BIOGRAPHICAL 

'Winfield  Scott  Oberdorf 


WINFIELD   SCOTT  OBERDORF 


Winfield  Scott  Oberdorf  was  born 
in  this  village  on  January  12,  1861. 
He  is  a  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter 
John  Oberdorf.  His  early  life  was 
spent  alternately  between  the  farm  of 
his  grandfather  and  the  village  of 
Dansville.  At  fourteen  he  entered 
the  office  of  the  Dansville  Advertiser 
to  learn  the  printer's  trade,  where  he 
remained  three  and  one-half  years. 
In  the  latter  part  of  his  apprentice- 
ship he  prepared  for  entrance  to  the 
Geneseo  State  Normal  School,  the 
money  he  had  saved  contributing 
toward  his  school  expenses.  Although 
during  the  four  years  from  1878  to 
1882  he  was  absent  from  school 
twenty  weeks  or  more  for  the  purpose 
of  teaching,  besides  being  engaged, 
during  vacations,  teaching  or  work- 
ing to  pay  expenses,  he  completed 
the  four  years'  classical  course  with 
his  class  in  the  spring  of  1882,  and 
within  a  year  after  being  graduated, 
repaid  the  money  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  borrow. 

Before  his  senior  year  at  school  had  closed,  he  being  then  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  he  was  offered  the  editorship  of  the  Livingston 
Republican,  a  paper  published  at  the  county  seat,  and  having  at  that 
time  the  largest  circulation  in  the  county.  This  was  accepted,  and 
his  editorial  work  began  soon  after  the  commencement  exercises 
in  June.  In  a  little  less  than  two  years  a  copartnership  interest  in 
the  Dansville  Advertiser  was  tendered  to  him  by  A.  O.  Bunnell,  in 
whose  employ  he  had  learned  his  trade.  Accordingly,  on  March  1, 
1884,  Dansville  again  became  his  home.  Becoming  identified  with 
various  local  organizations,  he  progressed  from  secretary  of  Union 
Hose  Company,  one  of  the  best  associations  of  the  kind  in  the  State, 
to  foreman,  and  to  Chief  Engineer  of  the  whole  fire  department;  from 
scene  supporter  in  the  Odd  Fellows  to  Past  Grand,  and  through  vari- 
ous positions  of  other  societies.  He  is  a  member  of  Plioenix  Lodge, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  a  Presbyterian.  In  June,  1851  he  attended  for  the 
first  time  a  State  encampment  of  the  Sons  of  Veterans.  That  same 
summer  he  went  to  Minneapolis  as  one  of  five  delegates  representing 
this  State  at  the  National  encampment;  and  next  June  at  the  State 
encampment  in  Amsterdam  he  was  elected  without  opposition  to  the 
highest  place  in  the  gift  of  that  body.  Commander  of  all  the  camps  in 
the  State.  This  year  the  order  had  a  most  successful  career,  the 
membership  in  the  State  reaching  a  point  never  before  and  never 
since  attained.  The  gold  cross  of  the  order  was  conferred  upon  him 
for  meritorious  service  by  the  next  National  encampment. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


243 


RESIDENCE   or  W.   S.   OBERDORF,   CORNER.   SEWARD  AND   CLINTON    STREETS 


]\Ir.  Oberdorf  was  a  journalist  of  the  progressive  school,  productive 
of  ideas,  which  he  turned  to  the  very  best  account — a  live  editor  of  a 
live  newspaper.  He  has  fine  oratorical  talent,  and  has  made  a  wide 
reputation  as  both  a  political  and  after-dinner  speaker.  A  Republi- 
can in  politics,  and  always  active  in  promoting  the  interests  of  that 
party,  he  first  appeared  as  a  campaign  speaker  in  1888,  when  he  went  on 
the  stump  for  Benjamin  Harrison.  In  1893  he  was  Memorial  Day 
orator  at  Utica,  having  that  year  received  no  less  than  fifteen  in- 
vitations to  deliver  memorial  addresses.  Thoroughly  in  earnest  in 
whatever  he  says,  brimming  with  ideas  and  talking  for  a  purpose,  he 
impresses  himself  upon  others  by  the  irresistible  logic  of  fact  and 
argument  rather  than  by  the  use  of  honeyed  words  or  florid  rhetorical 
phrases.  He  never  tries  in  speech  simply  to  amuse  or  entertain,  but 
to  interest,  edify  and  inspire. 

In  the  spring  of  1896  his  health  failed,  compelling  absolute  absten- 
tion from  business.  In  September,  1897,  his  health  still  impaired,  he 
decided  to  sever  all  business  cares,  selling  his  interest  in  the  Dansville 
Advertiser  to  his  partner.  Recovering,  he  was  married  September 
27,  1899,  to  Miss  Katherine  Angell  Hall  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  F  G.  Hall  of  Dansville,  and  on  the  death  of  John  Hyland, 
February  following,  he  was  employed  by  E.  T.  Scovill,  residuary 
legatee  under  the  will  of  Mr.  Hyland,  as  his  agent  for  the  estate, 
which  position  he  now  holds. 

As  a  business  man  Mr.  Oberdorf  aims  to  be  exact,  thorough  and 
progressive.  He  is  never  content  with  things  as  they  are,  but  insists 
upon  a  steady  advance  along  the  whole  line.     He   possesses  excellent 


244 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


executive  ability,  and  is  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  any  position  which  he  has  gained  or  accepted,  whether  the  work  be 
gratuitous  or  remunerative. 

A  man  of  positive  convictions  and  irrepressible  industry,  and  a 
staunch  friend  of  all  who  struggle  to  rise,  he  has  not  only  fairly  won 
his  way  to  his  present  position  of  wide  influence  and  great  responsi- 
bility, but  his  interest  and  his  example  have  proved  a  help  and  an  in- 
spiration to  many  young  men  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact. 

CKarles  Frederick  Snyder 


Charles  Frederick  Snyder,  princi- 
pal and  proprietor  of  the  American 
Correspondence  Normal  and  a  high- 
ly esteemed  resident  of  Dansville, 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Spring- 
water,  N.  Y.,  July  7,  1867.  He  is 
the  son  of  Jacob  and  Julia  (Bevins) 
Snyder  who  recently  celebrated  the 
sixtieth  anniversary  of  their  mar- 
riage. Mr.  Snyder  is  the  youngest 
of  a  family  of  nine  boys  and  one 
girl.  Seven  of  the  sons  are  still 
living.  He  spent  the  early  years  of 
his  life  on  the  farm  where  his  par- 
ents still  reside  and  in  the  hardy 
environment  of  an  agricultural 
community  acquired  a  spirit  of  in- 
dependence which  has  enabled  him 
to  attain  unaided  in  a  compara- 
tively few  years,  an  important 
position  in  the  business  world. 
After  he  had  become  possessed  of  a 
district  school  education,  he  spent 
several  terms  at  the  Geneseo  ISIor- 
mal,  alternating  his  years  devoted  to  study  by  teaching  school.  In 
all  he  spent  over  five  years  in  this  occupation,  as  principal  of  the 
school  at  Springwater  and  at  South  Dansville.  While  teaching  at 
the  latter  place  in  1891,  he  became  interested  in  the  Correspondence 
school  then  being  conducted  in  that  village,  and  the  following  year 
purchased  the  business  and  moved  its  headquarters  to  Dansville 
where  he  has  since  been  located.  The  history  of  this  school  is  a 
most  interesting  one  and  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  work.  On 
January  8,  1896,  he  was  married  at  South  Dansville  to  Miss  Ede 
Mary  Kuder  of  that  town.  Four  children  have  blessed  this  union ; 
Wilson  F.,  J.  Eloise,   Edith  M.,  and  Theodore  R. 

Mr.  Snyder  is  an  active  and  prominent  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  at  Dansville  and  is  now  serving  his  third  term 
as  its  financial  secretary  and  as  chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees. 
In   these   official   capacities   he   has   displayed   rare    acumen    in   the 


CHARLES  FREDERICK  SNYDER 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


245 


discharge  of  the  many  duties  which  have  devolved  upon  him,  and 
has  aided  greatly  in  making  possible  the  splendid  and  flourishing  con- 
dition which  that  church  now  enjoys.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican. 
j\Ir.  Snyder  is  a  man  of  culture  and  refinement  whose  long  associa- 
tion with  his  school  has  brought  him  in  touch  with  thousands  of  in- 
telligent and  earnest  workers,  and  in  aiding  them,  he  has  strength- 
ened his  own  purpose  in  life.  A  man  of  genial  temperament,  progres- 
sive ideas  and  upright  character,  he  has  advanced  his  own  interests 
along  lines  of  usefulness  and  profit  by  which  the  community  as  a 
whole  has  been  benefitted. 


RESIDENCE,   CHARLES    F.   SNYDER 


246 


BIOGRAPHICAL 
Newton  Btirtron  GorHaim 


NEWTON    BUB.TRON   GORHAM 


Newton  B.  Gorham,  attor- 
ney and  counselor  at  law  m 
this  village,  is  a  son  of  Rev. 
Jason  B.  Gorham  who  was 
for  some  years  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  church  at  Byers- 
ville, this  county.  The  father, 
for  a  good  many  years  re- 
sided at  Geneseo,  N.  Y.,  and 
is  now  a  resident  of  The 
Dalles,  Oregdn.  Mr.  Gorham 
was  educated  at  the  district 
and  Normal  schools  of  Gen- 
eseo and  lived  there  most  of 
his  life  before  coming  to 
Dansville  in  1898.  He  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Georgetown 
University  School  of  Law, 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  has 
been  practicing  law  for  six 
vears. 


BiograpHical  Allusions 


Biographical  Allusions 


Dr.  James  C.  Jackson 

Dr.  James  C.  Jackson  is  referred  to  in 
other  parts  of  this  history,  as  the  wise 
founder  of  the  Jackson  Sanatorium.  He 
was  born  in  Onondaga  county  m  1811, 
and  died  in  1895.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  anti-slavery  orators,  in  1842  cor- 
responding secretary  of  the  American 
Anti-Slavery  Society,  and  for  a  time 
edited  the  Madison  County  Abolitionist, 
which  advocated  emancipation  of  the 
slaves.  He  came  to  Dansville  in  1858, 
and  something  of  what  he  accomplished 
here  is  elsewhere  stated.  His  observation 
was  keen,  his  mind  original,  with  re- 
markably clear  intuitions,  which  guided 
him  more  than  precedents.  His  resources  of  knowledge  and  thought 
seemed  exhaustless,  and  his  published  writings  and  public  addresses 
would,  if  collected,  fill  many  large  volumes.  He  was  a  magnetic 
and  convincing  speaker,  and  a  most  genial  and  friendly  companion. 
Modern  Dansville  is  more  indebted  to  him  than  to  any  other  man. 
He  died  July  11,  1895,  in  his  85th  year,  and  his  funeral  was  held  from 
Brightside  July  13.  His  son.  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson,  now  the  head  of 
the  Sanatorium,  received  his  father's  mantle  of  power  and  popularity, 
and  is  as  progressive  in  his  day  as  his  father  was  in  his.  He  speaks  to 
his  frequent  audiences  at  the  Sanatorium  and  in  the  village  with 
somewhat  less  fluency  than  his  gifted  father,  but  has  been  a  close 
student  of  books  and  men,  thinks  for  himself,  discriminates  keenly 
between  the  false  and  true,  theory  and  fact,  and  his  addresses  are  re- 
plete with  suggestive  wisdom  which  is  often  so  condensed  as  to  seem 
like  strings  of  aphorisms. 

Dr.  Harriet  JV.  Austin 

Dr.  Harriet  N.  Austin  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1825,  and  died 
in  North  Adams,  Mass.,  April  27,  1891.  She  moved  to  Moravia,  this 
state  with  her  parents  when  but  two  years  old,  and  there  grew  to 
womanhood.  She  studied  medicine,  began  practice  in  1852  in  the 
Glen  Haven  water  cure,  under  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson  and  was  his 
associate  physician  for  thirty  years  at  Glen  Haven  and  Dansville  insti- 
tutions. When  Our  Home  on  the  Hillside  was  opened  in  1858  she  be- 
came a  partner  in  the  business,  and  remained  such  until  the  institution 
was  burned  in  1882,  when  she  retired  from  professional  practice,  and 
afterward  made  her  home  at  North  Adams,  Mass.  Dr.  Austin  was 
very  popular  with  both  patients  and  citizens  on  account  of  her  lovely, 
even-tempered  character,  varied  knowledge  and  unfailing  tact.  For 
many  years  she  was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Laws  of  Life,  the  valu- 
able health  magazine  of  Our  Home. 


249 


250 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 


Emerson  Johnson 

A  well  remembered  and  highly  esteemed  citizen  of  Dansville  was 
Emerson  Johnson,  who  was  prominently  identified  with  the  business 
management  of  Our  Home  on  the  Hillside  and  the  Sanatorium  from 
1866  until  the  year  of  his  death,  1896.  He  was  born  in  Sturbridge, 
Mass.  Aug.  11,  1812.  He  was  elected  to  the  house  of  the  Massachu- 
setts legislature  in  1861,  and  to  the  senate  in  1865.  His  one  vote 
first  sent  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  Charles  Sumner,  he  being  elected  by  a 
majority  of  only  one.  He  married  Miss  Hannah  Arnold  in  1838,  who 
died  in  1844.  A  surviving  daughter  is  Dr.  Kate  J.  Jackson,  wife  of 
Dr.  James  H.  Jackson  of  the  Sanatorium.  Mr.  Johnson  married 
for  his  second  wife  Miss  Fanny  L.  Brown,  a  woman  of  fine  literary 
ability  who  survives  him  with  one  daughter,  Mrs.  William  K. 
Smalley.  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  very  intelligent  man,  of  sound  judgment 
and  kindly  nature.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Johnson  were  for  some  years 
valued  members  of  Coterie,  aiding  in  the  best  work  of  its  earlier 
days  by  their  regular  attendance  and  thorough  preparation  in  sub- 
jects assigned  to  them,  and  sliow'ng  in  what  they  did  and  said  care- 
ful and  thoughtful  readings  of  the  best  authors.  Mr.  Johnson  died 
May  2,  1896. 

Dr.  James  Faulkner 


One  of  Dansville's  strongest 
characters  was  Dr.  James 
Faulkner,  who  was  born  in 
AVashington  county  in  1790  and 
died  in  1884  aged  nearly  ninety- 
five  years.  He  came  to  Dans- 
ville with  his  father  and  mother, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Faulkner, 
in  the  last  decade  of  the  18th 
century.  He  studied  medicine 
and  surgery,  practiced  awhile 
here,  and  then  engaged  in 
other  business.  He  purchased  a 
paper  mill  and  a  large  tract  of 
land  about  1815,  and  these 
were  the  foundation  of  the 
large  fortune  which  he  left  to 
his  children.  His  business 
energy  and  sagacity  were  mani- 
fested in  many  ways,  and  his 
will  power  was  extraordinary 
like  George  Hyland's,  with 
wliom  he  often  came  in  conflict 
in  local  and  political  matters 
He  was  elected  supervisor  in 
1815,  member  of  assembly  in 
1824,  and  state  senator  in  1842.  Because  of  this  last  office  he  re- 
signed the  position  of  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  to  which 
he  had  been  appointed  by  Governor  Marcy  in  1835.   In  the  war  of  igj^-, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS  251 

he  was  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  McClure,  and  went  with  him  to  the  north- 
ern frontier.  He  was  the  selected  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Dansville  when  it  started  in  1864,  and  retained  the  position  until 
he  died.  He  was  as  skillful  in  politics  and  legislation  as  in  business, 
and  his  mastery  ot  men  was  remarkable.  For  a  long  time  after  he 
passed  his  ninetieth  year  he  walked  the  streets  with  erect  car- 
riage and  elastic  step.  Of  seven  children  but  one  survives,  James 
Faulkner  of  Dansville,  who  took  his  seat  as  member  of  the  state 
assembly  Jan.  4,  1875,  just  fifty  years  to  a  day  after  his  father  had 
taken  his  seat  in  the  same  body,  and  drew  the  same  seat,  number  99, 
coincidences  worthy  of  record. 

Hon.  Samuel  D.  Faulkner 

Hon.  Samuel  D.  Faulkner,  son  of  Dr.  James  Faulkner,  died 
August  9,  1878,  aged  nearly  forty-three  years.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Yale  College.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1860  he  practiced 
law  for  awhile  in  partnership  with  Solomon  Hubbard.  He  was 
elected  supervisor  in  1863  and  1864,  member  of  assembly  in  1865, 
county  judge  and  surrogate  in  1871  and  1877,  each  time  on  the 
democratic  ticket.  His  logical  mind  was  furnished  with  a  wide 
range  of  information,  and  he  was  a  thorough  lawyer,  a  good  speaker, 
and  an  able,  impartial  judge.  He  was  dignified  yet  urbane,  and 
always  an  interesting  conversationalist. 

Sidney  Sweet 

Sidney  Sweet  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1809.  He  came  to  Liv- 
ingston county  in  1841,  and  for  some  time  conducted  a  machine  shop 
at  Cumminsville.  In  1849  he  and  Endress  Faulkner  established  a 
private  bank  at  Dansville  with  the  firm  name  of  Sidney  Sweet  &  Co. 
After  Endress  Faulkner  died  Dr.  James  Faulkner  became  a  partner, 
and  later  Barna  S.  Chapin.  Mr.  Sweet  retired  from  active  business 
about  the  time  the  Civil  war  closed,  and  spent  much  of  the  rest  of  his 
life  in  travel,  making  several  trips  to  Europe  and  also  visiting  Egypt, 
Asia  and  the  Sandwich  Islands.  He  was  supervisor  of  the  town  four 
years  and  state  senator  in  1856-7.  He  was  a  well-read  man  of  rare 
intelligence  and  admirable  domestic  and  social  qualities,  and  his  busi- 
ness ability  was  shown  by  his  success.  He  died  August  31,  1887, 
aged  seventy-eight. 

Hon.  Isaac  L.  Endress 

Hon.  Isaac  L.  Endress  died  January  22,  1870,  in  the  sixtieth  year 
of  his  age.  His  father  was  a  Lutheran  clergyman  of  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  sent  his  son  to  Dickinson  college.  Pa.,  where  he  was  educated. 
He  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  Rochester  and  in  1832  moved 
from  that  city  to  Dansville,  where  he  practiced,  a  part  of  the  time  as 
partner  of  John  A.  VanDerlip,  until  his  death.  He  was  appointed  one 
of  the  judges  of  this  county  in  1840  by  Governor  Seward,  and  the  ap- 
pointment was  confirmed  by  the  senate.  He  was  a  republican  presi- 
dential elector  in  1856,  a  member  of  the  State  Constitutional  con- 
vention later,  and  in  1868  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  republican 
convention.  He  was  also  several  times  a  member  of  Republican  state 
committee.  In  both  public  and  private  life  he  was  faithful  to  his 
convictions,  kind,  courteous  and  honorable.  He  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Dansville  for  over  thirty  years. 


252 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 


Judge  John  Jt.  VatiDeriip 

Judge  John  A.  VanDerlip,  who  died  April  14,  1894,  aged  seventy- 
six,  was  a  graduate  of  Union  college,  class  of  1838,  and  studied  law 
in  Troy.  He  came  to  Dansville  in  1842,  and  practiced  law  here  until 
his  death,  a  part  of  the  time  with  Isaac  L.  Endress,  for  eighteen 
years  with  Joseph  W.  Smith,  two  years  with  his  son  now  of  Minne- 
apolis, and  several  years  without  a  partner.  He  was  postmaster 
from  1858  to  1861.  He  was  a  prominent  Mason  and  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Canaseraga  lodge  I.  O.  O.  F.,  instituted  in  1844.  He  was 
prominent  in  the  organization  of  St.  Peter's  Episcopal  church,  and  a 
regular  attendant  at  its  services.  Probably  Dansville  never  had  an 
abler  or  more  conscientious  lawyer  than  Judge  VanDerlip.  To  com- 
prehensive knowledge  of  the  law  were  added  clear  convictions  of  right 
and  wrong,  the  solid  judgment  of  a  liberal  and  judicial  mind,  with 
quick  discernment  of  the  false  in  sophistries  and  subtleties,  and 
ability  in  argument  or  brief  to  state  his  case  in  the  most  convincing 
language.  Other  characteristics  were  quiet,  unaffected  manners,  and 
courtesy  to  all  in  both  social  and  professional  life.  In  1853  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Anna  Day,  who  survives  him. 

Jlrchelaus  Stevens 


Archelaus  Stevens  became 
a  resident  of  Ithaca  N. 
Y.,  in  1821,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming  and 
teaching  for  a  few  years,  and 
afterwards  was  partner  in  a 
paper  mill  firm.  In  1834  he 
assisted  Lyman  Cobb  in  in- 
troducing his  school  books — 
the  Speller,  Expositor  and 
Primer — in  the  vicinity  of 
New  York  City.  In  1836  he 
moved  to  Dansville  and 
opened  a  printing  office  and 
book  bindery,  and  com- 
menced publishing  for  Mr. 
Cobb  the  books  which  he 
had  been  introducing.  He 
erected  a  three-story  brick 
building  in  1839  and  the 
Second  Presbyterian  society 
held  their  services  in  its 
second  story  for  three  years, 
and  in  1846  he  built  another  three-story  brick  building.  In  1842  he 
and  his  eldest  son,  G.  W.  Stevens,  published  the  Dansville  Whig. 
The  paper  finally  passed  into  the  latter's  possession  and  the  name  was 
changed  to  Western  New  Yorker,  and  was  edited  by  Rev.  John  N. 
Hubbard,  author  of  the  Life  of  Major  VanCampen.  In  1850  the 
father  moved  to  New  York  city,  and  lived  there  eleven  years,  return- 
ing in  1861  to  Dansville,  where  he  died  in  1876.   He  was  the  publisher 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS  253 

in  Dansville  of  various  other  books  besides  the  Cobb  school  books, 
including  the  Life  of  VanCampen,  copies  of  the  original  edition  of 
which  are  now  rare  and  valuable.  It  was  bound  in  his  bindery  in 
tree  calf.  It  appears  that  he  was  an  uncommonly  enterprising 
publisher  and  citizen,  and  esteemed  for  his  Christian  virtues  as 
well  as  business  ability. 

Job  C.  Hedges 

Almost  at  the  beginning  of  a  brilliant  professional  career.  Job  C. 
Hedges,  stirred  by  patriotic  enthusiasm,  helped  recruit  the  famous 
fighting  13th  regiment  of  the  Civil  war,  and  went  with  it  to  the  front. 
He  became  its  adjutant,  and  was  never  remiss  in  military  duty  while 
connected  with  it.  When  this  two  years  regiment  was  discharged  he 
aided  Col.  E.  G.  Marshall  in  recruiting  the  14th  Heavy  Artillery, 
and  after  having  participated  in  seven  hard-fought  battles  was  in- 
stantly killed  June  17,  1864,  while  gallantly  leading  his  men  before 
Petersburg.  He  was  several  times  commended  by  his  superior  officers 
for  his  ability  and  courage,  and  died  gloriously.  Dansville  citizens 
were  proud  of  him,  and  paid  unusual  tributes  to  his  memory.  Major 
Hedges  was  born  in  New  York  June  12,  1835.  After  completing  his 
education  at  Princeton  college,  he  studied  law  in  Rochester,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1858,  practiced  in  Rochester  and  New  York 
for  a  time,  and  then,  at  the  solicitation  of  friends,  moved  to  Dansville. 
Here  he  found  the  promise  of  great  success  in  his  profession,  but  the 
war  came  and  his  country  was  dearer  to  him  than  professional  suc- 
cess. Several  times  he  prophetically  said  that  he  did  not  expect  to 
survive  the  struggle.  Hon.  Job  E.  Hedges  of  New  York  is  his  only 
child,  and  worthy  of  his  parentage.  He  graduated  at  Princeton  col- 
lege and  the  Columbia  law  school,  and  soon  commenced  the  practice 
of  law  in  New  York.  He  has  been  prominent  in  State  and  municipal 
politics,  was  Mayor  Strong's  private  secretary,  and  by  him  was  ap- 
pointed municipal  judge.  This  important  and  lucrative  office  he  re- 
signed long  before  the  close  of  his  term,  because  he  preferred  legal 
practice.  He  is  now  special  attorney-general  for  the  state  in  New  York. 
Seth  N.  Hedges,  a  brother  of  Majo'r  Hedges,  died  Aug.  27,  1881,  aged 
forty-two.  He  was  born  in  Dansville  and  his  home  was  always  here, 
He  served  in  the  13th  infantry  and  14th  heavy  artillery  during  the 
civil  war,  afterward  studied  law,  and  engaged  in  practice,  at  first  with 
D.  W.  Noyes,  and  then  by  himself.  He  was  an  able  and  successful 
lawyer  and  a  popular  citizen.  President  Grant  appointed  hira  post- 
master in  1869,  and  he  held  the  office  four  years.  Another  brother 
is  Paul  I.  Hedges,  who  went  west  long  ago,  and  is  now  a  leading 
lawyer  in  Whitehall,  Mich. 

Ilpbert  C.  Brown 

A  unique,  interesting  and  distinguished  character  is  that  of  Robert 
C.  Brown.  Although  he  was  born  in  Cohocton,  Steuben  county,  in 
1842,  he  is  proudly  claimed  as  a  Dansville  product,  for  he  came  here 
before  he  was  two  years  old  and  got  his  start  here  as  follows:  First 
money  earned  driving  cows,  ringing  auction  bells,  selling  papers  and 
driving  on  the  canal.  After  a  short  season  with  the  Shakers  he  re- 
turned home  and  in  a  Dansville  printing  office  under  the   tender    care 


254  BIGORAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 

of  H.  L.  Rann,  "Capt.  Digby"  and  A.  O.  Bunnell  ripened  so  rapidly 
that  he  graduated  at  eleven  years  of  age  by  disappearing  in  the  boot 
of  a  stage  to  Wayland  when  sent  after  a  pitcher  of  water.  Thus  he 
swung  out  into  the  great  world  beyond  the  rim  of  hills  which  enclose 
this  valley  and  began  life  anew,  reappearing  first  in  a  lumber  camp  in 
Wisconsin  wilds,  where  he  was  caught  and  caged  in  school  for  a  short 
time,  only  to  escape  with  some  Indian  mail  carriers,  and  finally  enlist- 
ing in  the  U.  S.  regular  army  in  1861,  and  after  two  years  gallant 
service  returning  to  Dansville  to  bring  that  pitcher  of  water.  Then 
"Bob"  drifted  into  New  York  city  where  he  has  literally  grown  up  with 
the  big  city,  honored  and  beloved — prospering  physically,  financially 
and  socially,  as  such  an  original,  enterprising,  great-hearted,  honor- 
able man  deserves  to  prosper.  His  family  consists  of  a  wife  and  two 
daughters. 

Tifiuben  Whiteman 

Very  plain  and  simple  in  his  manner  and  speech  and  life  was  Reu- 
ben Whiteman,  grandson  of  Jacob  Whiteman,  a  native  of  Prussia  who 
came  to  America  at  the  age  of  four  years,  and  was  a  stout  American 
soldier  throughout  the  revolutionary  war.  Reuben  Whiteman  came 
from  Wayland  to  Dansville  in  1851  and  died  in  1888  a  prominent 
citizen  and  a  wealthy  man.  He  acquired  much  real  estate  in  this 
vicinity  and  took  advantage  of  lumbering  and  canal  forwarding,  but 
in  later  years  acquired  the  bulk  of  his  property  in  timber  lands  of  the 
great  West.  In  keeping  track  of  the  details  of  his  large  business  he 
relied  less  on  account  books  than  on  his  remarkable  memory.  Of  his 
family,  his  wife  and  two  children,  Mrs.  Clara  J.  Gibbs  and  Alonzo  J. 
Whiteman  survive. 

"Huge"  Fred  Becker 

"Huge"  Fred  Decker  known  as  the  "Ossian  Baby,"  was  born  in  Os- 
sian,  lived  a  few  years  in  Dansville,  and  was  often  seen  here  from  child- 
hood, until  his  death.  He  was  the  most  picturesque  figure  ever  seen 
on  our  streets.  He  died  about  fifteen  years  ago  aged  about  fifty.  In 
his  prime  he  was  seven  feet  two  and  one-half  inches  tall,  with  broad 
shoulders  and  large  muscular  limbs.  He  had  the  strength  of  four  or  five 
average  men,  partly  acquired  in  logging  and  saw-mill  tending,  which 
were  the  principal  occupations  of  his  life.  Many  stories  are  told  about 
his  Samsonian  strength.  One  of  them  is,  that  he  separated  two  bullies 
who  were  fighting,  and  held  them  by  the  shoulders  at  arms'  length 
kicking  in  the  air.  If  a  loaded  wagon  got  stuck  in  the  mud  he  would 
easily  lift  it  out.  He  would  lift  the  ends  of  large  log's  while  men  at 
the  other  ends  worked  with  levers.  He  once  jumped  twelve  feet  on  a 
level  to  win  a  bet.  He  was  invited  to  try  a  lifting  machine  war- 
ranted by  its  owner  against  any  man's  muscle  and  his  lift  ruined  it. 
He  once  had  a  hand  grip  here  with  the  Arabian  giant,  several  inches 
taller  than  himself,  and  made  him  cry  quits.  Barnum  got  wind  of 
him,  and  secured  him  for  his  New  York  museum  at  a  large  salary; 
but  after  a  few  months  he  got  tired  of  being  stared  at  and  felt  of, 
and  bolted  for  home.  When  he  left  the  cars  at  Dansville,  adorned 
with  uniform  and  brass  buttons,  a  long  procession  of  boys  and  girls 
followed  him  through  the  streets.     Afterward  he  went  with  a    travel- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS  255 

ing  show  two  or  three  years,  but  he  preferred  the  saw  mill  and  log 
lifting.  He  was  a  grave,  kindly  man,  slow  to  anger,  but  a  terror 
when  thoroughly  aroused. 

Lester  Bradner 

Lester  Bradner  died  at  the  residence  of  his  son-in-law  Lauren  C. 
WondrufT,  in  the  city  of  Bulfalo,  Aug.  l!S,  1872,  in  his  eighty-second 
year.  Born  in  Oneida  county,  as  a  citizen  of  Dansville  he  bore  a 
conspicuous  part  in  the  settlement  and  business  of  the  Genesee  valley 
for  more  than  half  a  century,  his  extensive  and  successful  mercantile 
operations  covering  the  counties  of  Livingston,  Allegany  and  Wy- 
oming. In  1842  he  was  elected  president  of  the  bank  of  Dansville, 
which  position  he  held  till  his  death. 

Charles  J.  Bissell 

Charles  J.  Bissell,  now  quite  near  the  head  of  the  Rochester  bar, 
where  he  located  as  a  lawyer  in  1889,  practiced  eighteen  years  in 
Dansville,  and  won  laurels  in  this  county  early  in  his  professional 
career,  which  began  in  1871.  He  has  conducted  many  important  liti- 
gations, and  done  much  business  for  wealthy  corporations,  in  which 
he  has  been  exceptionally  skillful  and  successful.  In  Rochester  he  is 
regarded  by  the  bar  as  one  of  the  best  of  trial  lawyers,  both  in  the 
examination  of  witnesses  and  in  addresses  to  juries.  He  has  delivered 
various  talks  and  lectures  in  Rochester  in  response  to  flattering  in- 
vitations, and  because  of  his  fluency  and  ready  wit,  has  several  times 
been  selected  for  toast-master  at  public  banquets. 

Benjamin  F.  Harwood 

Benjamin  F.  Harwood  was  born  in  Steuben  county  in  1819,  studied 
law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1839,  and  located  in  Dansville  the 
same  year.  Here  he  mixed  a  good  deal  of  politics  with  his  law  prac- 
tice, and  his  ability  in  both  was  apparent,  but  the  former  interfered 
somewhat  with  the  latter.  In  1848  he  was  chosen  a  presidential 
elector,  and  in  1855  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  but 
died  the  next  year  while  in  office. 

Russell  F.  Hicks 

Russell  F.  Hicks  died  at  his  residence  near  vSyracuse  August  23, 
1869,  in  his  sixtieth  year.  He  had  been  a  resident  of  Dansville, 
where  he  was  a  teacher  many  years.  He  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  on  the  Republican  ticket  in  1856,  to  fill  the  place 
made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Benjamin  F.  Harwood.  He  was  a  fine 
scholar,  an  eloquent  speaker  and  a  courteous  gentleman.  In  Albany 
he  became  a  center  of  political  influence,  and  his  rooms  were  often 
thronged  with  the  politicians  of  his  party.  He  was  known  best  in 
Dansville  as  an  admirable  teacher  of  select  and  district  schools. 

Col.  Timothy  B.  Grant 

Col.  Timothy  B.  Grant  came  to  Dansville  from  Rochester  in  1846 
and  became  a  partner  of  Merritt  H.  Brown  in  the  hardware  business. 
The  partnership  was  dissolved  in  1870,  and  Col.  Grant  continued  the 
business  till  1887,  when  he  sold  out.     He  was  town  clerk  twenty  years 


256  BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 

and  for  a  time  was  secretary  and  treasurer  for  the  George  Sweet 
Manufacturing  Co.  He  was  a  member  of  the  famous  military  com- 
pany Icnown  as  Union  Grays  while  in  Rochester,  and  in  Dansville  was 
captain  and  drill-master  of  the  Canaseragas,  as  elsewhere  stated  in 
detail.  His  uniformly  cheerful,  and  almo^st  exuberant  nature  was 
inspiring.  He  was  a  special  favorite,  and  seemed  to  have  no  enemies. 
He  was  born  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  Aug.  2,  1819,  and  died  here 
Oct.   15,  1899. 

Moses  S.  George 

Moses  S.  George,  who  was  a  veteran  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  long  a 
resident  of  Dansville,  died  at  Bluff  Point,  Keuka  Lake,  Sept.  8,  1881, 
aged  eighty-six.  He  carried  an  Indian  bullet  in  his  thigh  over  three- 
score years,  and  when  it  came  to  the  surface  cut  it  out  himself.  He 
was  a  zealous  and  prominent  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and 
the  father  of  the  distinguished  Methodist  clergyman.  Rev.  Dr.  A.  C. 
George,  and  the  well-known  educator,  Mrs.  Susan  George  Jones. 
Dr.  George,  who  died  in  1885  at  Englewood,  111.,  was  the  president 
of  the  first  board  of  trustees  of  the  Dansville  Seminary,  when  in  1853 
the  successful  movement  was  started  to  build  the  brick  seminary 
building  on  the  hillside.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest  preachers  in  the 
Methodist  church,  and  there  was  a  prospect  at  one  time  that  he  would 
be  chosen  bishop.  He  was  also  a  fine,  strong  writer,  and  contributed 
many  articles  to  the  papers  and  magazines.  Mrs.  S.  M.  Clapp,  his 
sister,  was  a  talented  and  successful  teacher.  Mrs.  Jones,  a  half  sister, 
was  preceptress  of  the  Dansville  seminary  several  years,  and  became  a 
very  useful  and  popular  teacher.  Her  lovely  character,  charming 
personality,  and  rare  conversational  gifts  attached  hosts  of  friends  to 
her  wherever  she  lived.  In  her  later  years  she  filled  important  po- 
sitions as  preceptress  at  Hackettstown,  N.  J.,  Baltimore,  Md.,  and 
Auburndale,  Mass.  She  died  in  Rochester  daring  her  vacation  time, 
September  15,  1898,  aged  about  sixty  years,  being  then  preceptress  of 
the  celebrated  Lasell  seminary  for  ladies  at  Auburndale,  under  C.  C. 
Bragdon,  its  .owner  and  principal,  who  said  of  her  that  she  was  the 
noblest  woman  and  best  manager  of  young  women  that  he  ever  knew. 
Her  only  son  Lewis  Bunnell  Jones,  is  the  effective  advertising  man- 
ager of  the  Eastman  Kodak  works  of  Rochester. 

E.  C.  Daugherty 

E.  C.  Daugherty  is  remembered  and  honored  in  Dansville  for  his 
consistent  Christian  character  and  uncommon  ability  as  a  printer  and 
editor.  He  learned  his  trade  in  Buffalo,  and  graduated  as  one  of  the 
swiftest  and  most  skillful  printers  in  that  city.  He  came  to  Dansville, 
and  started  the  Dansville  Herald  in  May,  1850,  and  published  it  four 
years,  winning  general  confidence  and  esteem.  Then  he  went  to 
Rockford,  111. ,  where  he  started  the  Rockford  Register  in  February, 
1854.  By  hard  and  conscientious  labor  he  gradually  raised  the  paper 
to  wide-spread  influence  and  financial  success,  but  in  doing  so  sapped 
the  fountains  of  life.  He  went  to  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  to  improve  his 
health,  and  died  there  February  19,  1868,  aged  forty-five. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS  257 

Merritt  H.  Brown 

^lerritt  H.  Brown  was  born  in  ^'cl•lnont  in  1806  and  died  in  Dans- 
ville  in  18<)4.  He  came  liere  with  his  parents  in  ISlS,  and  after  he 
t>rew  to  manhood  was  a  leading  hardware  merchant  and  manufacturer 
for  over  thirty-five  years.  He  was  one  of  the  potent  characters  of 
Dansville — self-reliant,  strong-willed,  public-spirited,  kindly,  gener- 
ous, with  attractive  social  qualities.  He  was  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  crowd  that  opened  the  berm  bank  which  separated  the  sub-branch 
from  the  Genesee  valley  canal,  elsewhere  described,  and  participated 
vigorously  and  effectively  in  the  fight  of  that  local  episode.  The  fol- 
lowing data  regarding  him  are  furnished  by  B.  W.  French  of  Chicago 
who  obtained  them  from  Dr.  Hovey  of  Rochester.  He  engaged  in 
the  hardware  trade  here  in  1834.  T.  B.  Grant  became  his  partner  in 
1846.  He  and  (reorge  vSweet  united  in  starting  the  business  of  G. 
Sweet  lSj  Co.,  at  Cumminsville  in  1S54.  Was  appointed  postmaster 
by  President  Pierce.  The  firm  of  AI.  H.  Brown  &  Son  was  formed  in 
1859,  and  the  firm  of  Brown  &  Grant  was  re-established  in  lS()n,  il. 
H.  Brown  retiring  in  favor  of  T.  B.  (Irant.  Engaged  in  the  grocery 
trade  with  B.  W.  French  in  isr).^.  Air.  Brown's  daughter  Alartha  be- 
came the  wife  of  B.  W.  French,  above  mentioned,  who  was  for  several 
years  one  of  the  best  business  men  of  Dansville,  and  has  been  so  fre- 
quent a  visitor  here  since  that  he  has  not  become  a  stranger.  Long 
ago  he  moved  from  Dansville  to  Chicago,  where  he  became  one  of  the 
prominent  insurance  men  of  the  city  and  of  the  great  West.  His  re- 
gard for  his  old  home  and  old  friends  is  kept  fresh  in  his  big  heart 
and  his  genial  nature  and  broad  intelligence  are  such  that  they  are 
always  glad  to  have  him  come  and  sorry  to  see  him  go.  He  has  an 
ideal  family  of  one  daughter  and  four  sons.  (Mr.  French  died  in  Chi- 
cago,  August  23,    1'J(I2.) 

John  F.  Babcock 

John  F.  Babcock  died  at  Asbury  Park,  N.  J.,  May  2,  1'HI2,  aged 
seventy-seven.  He  learned  the  printing  trade  with  A.  Stevens  in 
Dansville,  and  went  from  here  to  New  York  in  1S44.  There  he  was 
foreman  and  private  secretary  for  Alorris  &  Willis,  publishers  of  the 
Home  Journal.  He  moved  to  New  Jersey  in  1852,  and  was  connected 
with  the  New  Brunswick  Fredonian  for  many  years,  the  most  of  the 
time  as  part  owner  and  editor.  Among  the  responsible  positions 
which  he  afterward  held  were  those  of  secretary  of  the  New  Jersey 
senate  and  one  of  the  commission  to  revise  the  state  constitution. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New  Jersey  Editorial  association 
and  its  secretary  for  twenty-one  years.  He  was  influential  as  a  re- 
publican in  New  Jersey  politics,  and  also  as  a  member  of  various  so- 
cieties.    He  always  retained  his  love  for  Dansville. 

Jllexander  Edwards 

Alexander  Edwards,  who  died  October  16,  1900,  aged  seventy-eight, 
was  a  descendant  of  the  great  divine,  Jonathan  Edwards.  He  was 
born  in  Bath,  came  to  Dansville  in  1844,  and  was  in  the  dry  goods 
business  with  Matthew  McCartney  until  the  great  fire  of  1854.  After- 
ward he  held  a  number  of  local  official  positions,  and  in  his  later  years 


258 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 


B. 

..^^ 

>.  'h 

r,  1^,     ,  ,.] 

>  ^"^Km 

'^^m^mF 

^^Jh 

?5-.- 

^:    QPS 

/ 

I 

1                                  ^ 

was  superintendent  and  treasurer  of  the  Dansville  Cemetery  asso- 
ciation. He  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  McCurdy  in  1849,  and 
they  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  in  1899.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  worthily  filled  his  place  in  religious  and 
secular  life.  He  was  the  father  of  James  M.  Edwards,  cashier  of  the 
Merchants  and  Farmers  bank,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  E.  Sweet. 

W.  Woodruff 

B.  W.  Woodruff,  father  of  Oscar  Wood- 
ruff of  the  Dansville  Express,  died  Sept. 
30,  1893,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year.  He 
was  born  in  Livonia,  and  commenced 
learning  the  printer's  trade  in  Geneseo 
in  1821.  In  1834  he  was  publisher  of 
the  Livingston  Journal  of  Geneseo.  He 
came  to  Dansville  to  reside  in  1850. 
His  golden  wedding  was  celebrated  in 
1884.  A  genial  companion  and  a  good 
man. 

Rowley  Patterson 

Rowley  Patterson,  known  as  "the 
astronomer  of  Poag's  Hole,"  died 
January  20,  1893,  at  an  advanced  age. 
He  watched  the  night  skies  through  a 
$500  telescope,  and  constructed  some 
B.  w.  WOODRUFF  curious  theories  about  man  and   his   re- 

lation to  the  planets  and  moons,  whicn  he  claimed  were  based  on  Bible 
teachings.  He  was  entirely  sincere,  and  some  of  his  theories  were 
remarkable,  to  say  the  least. 

David  D.  McJ^air 

David  D.  McNair,  who  died  January  8,  1892,  aged  seventy-eight, 
was  born  in  Sparta,  and  came  to  Dansville  as  early  as  1836.  Later 
he  was  connected  with  the  Bank  of  Dansville,  and  for  a  long  period 
previous  to  the  failure  of  the  Woodruff  Paper  Co.,  was  its  treasurer 
and  business  manager.  He  was  also  loan  agent  for  the  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Co.,  of  New  York.  He  was  considered  one  of  our  ablest 
business  men,  and  his  transactions  gave  him  a  wide  acquaintance. 
He  was  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  His 
son  Clarence  I.  McNair  is  a  prominent  paper  maker  at  Cloquet, 
Minn. 

Dennis  Bunnell 

Dennis  Bunnell,  father  of  A.  O.,  and  Major  Mark  J.  Bunnell,  died 
July  2,  1885,  in  his  seventy-ninth  year.  He  was  respected  by  his 
acquaintances  for  his  unassuming  sincerity  and  earnest  convictions, 
and  beloved  by  his  family  for  his  affectionate  and  loyal  domestic 
nature.  He  was  an  ardent  whig  and  then  republican  and  through  the 
papers  kept  in  close  touch  with  political  events.  It  was  largely  owing 
to  his  persistent  efforts  that  the  excrescences  on  the  public  square  were 
removed,  and  it  became  a  source  of  pride  instead  of  shame  to  the 
village. 


BIOGRA  PHICA  L  ALL  US  IONS 


259 


Benjamin  C.  Cook 

Benjamin  C.  Cook  was  born  in 
Herkimer  county  in  1799,  was  edu- 
cated at  Fairfield  seminary,  and 
studied  law  in  the  office  of  Judge 
Crippen  of  Cooperstown.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1823,  and 
practiced  in  Cohocton  until  1829, 
when  he  changed  his  residence  to 
Dansville,  where  he  resided  until 
about  1854,  and  then  with  his  family 
went  to  Marshall,  Mich.  He  was  a 
well-read  and  careful  lawyer,  very 
industrious,  and  attended  faithfully 
to  all  interests  entrusted  to  him. 
His  professional  work  in  Marshall 
was  cut  short  by  paralysis  of  the 
brain,  and  returning  to  Steuben 
county  he  died  there  in  1856.  He  has 
been  characterized  as  "a  man  of 
orderly  habits,  sound  morals  and 
strict  integrity."  His  two  brothers, 
Paul  C,  and  Constant  Cook  were 
prominent  in  the  business  and  politics  of  Steuben  county  many  years. 


THE  COOK  RESIDENCE 


John  McWhorter 

John  McWhorter  lived  in  Dansville  from  1804  until  his  death, 
March  1,  1880.  He  was  a  steady,  practical  man  well  liked  by  his 
acquaintances,  and  an  interesting  talker  about  the  early  times.  He 
was  four  years  old  when  his  father,  the  first  agent  of  Sir  William 
Pultney,  moved  here  from  Bath. 


,260 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 


HENRY  C.   SEDGWICK 


Henry  C.  Sedgwick 

Henry  Sedgwick,  who  wrote 
many  interestingcommunications 
of  local  historical  reminiscences 
for  the  Advertiser,  and  who  once 
published  a  historical  pamphlet 
about  Dansville,  died  March  31, 
1892,  aged  sixty-six.  He  was 
clerk  in  the  Dansville  post  office 
or  deputy  postmaster  nearly  all 
theyearsfrom  1846  until  hisdeath. 
He  was  a  quiet,  kindly,  happy 
man, who  loved  his  fellowmen  and 
the  fields  and  woods  and  glens. 

Judge  David  McCartney 

Judge  David  McCartney  died 
at  his  home  in  Sterling,  III., 
March  18,  1887,  aged  seventy- 
nine  years.  He  was  born  on  the 
old  McCartney  place  north  of  the 
village,  and  about  half  a  century 
ago  was  one  of  the  successful 
merchants  of  Dansville.  He  went  to  Sterling  about  thirty-five  years 
before  his  death,  became  an  honored  member  of  the  Illinois  bar,  and 
was  three  times  elected  county  judge.  He  was  a  brother  of  James, 
Hugh  and  Matthew  McCartney  and  father  of  Mrs.  A.  L.  Parker  now 
residing  in  Dansville. 

L.  B.  Proctor 

L.  B.  Proctor,  for  thirty  years  a  Dansville  lawyer,  died  in  Albany 
April  1,  1900,  aged  seventy-seven  years.  He  was  author  of  the  Bench 
and  Bar  of  New  York,  Lives  of  the  Chancellors  of  the  State,  Life  and 
Times  of  Thomas  Addis  Emmett,  and  many  biographical  sketches. 
F'or  thirteen  years  he  served  as  secretary  of  the  State  Bar  association. 
He  was  a  graceful  writer,  and  skillful  in  the  choice  of  words  from  his 
abundant  vocabulary. 

Martin  L.  Daois 

Martin  L.  Davis,  an  eccentric  but  intelligent  resident  of  Dansville 
for  a  long  period,  died  September  4,  1899,  aged  seventy-six.  He  was 
a  man  of  many  original  schemes,  and  one  of  them  was  for  congress  to 
make  an  appropriation  for  drilling  test  holes  all  over  the  country  to 
ascertain  its  mineral  wealth.  He  was  one  of  eight  sons  of  Abner 
Davis,  only  one  of  whom  survives,  Lewis  L.  Davis  of  New 
York  city. 

Edward  S.  Palmes 

Edward  S.  Palmes  died  in  St.  Paul  February  26,  1891 ,  aged  seventy- 
nine.  The  most  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Dansville,  where  he  was  a 
merchant  tailor  and  an  influential  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Humorous  remarks  flowed  spontaneously  from  his  lips. 


BIOCRAPIIICA  L  A  LL  US  IONS 


2(.l 


GEORGE    SWEET 


George  Sweet 

George  Sweet  died  June  19,  1894, 
in  his  seventy-sixth  year.  Hu  was 
a  slfilled  practical  mechanic  and  in- 
ventor, and  for  many  years  was  the 
head  of  the  George  Sweet  Manu- 
facturing Co.  He  invented  the 
first  horse-power  corn  sheller  in 
Onondaga  county,  when  very 
young,  and  in  Dansville  invented 
valuable  agricultural  machinery  and 
appliances.  His  integrity,  intelli- 
gence and  sound  judgment  were 
recognized  by  all  his  neighbors. 

Prof.  David  L.  K.iehle 

Prof.  David  L.  Kiehle  and  Rev. 
Amos  A.  Kiehle,  D.  D.,  natives  of 
Dansville,  went  west  many  years 
ago,  and  have  distinguished  themselves,  one  as  an  educator  and  the 
other  as  a  clergyman.  David  L.  was  state  superintendent  of  public 
instruction  in  Minnesota  for  twelve  years,  and  resigned  to  accept  a 
position  in  the  State  university  at  Minneapolis,  where  he  has  now 
been  professor  of  pedagogy  fourteen  years.  Dr.  A.  A,  is  one  of  the 
leading  Presbyterian  divines  of  Wisconsin,"  and  has  been  pastor  of 
Calvary  church,  Milwaukee,  twenty-one  years.  Both  brothers  are 
graduates  of  Hamilton  college.  New  York. 

Robert  S.  Faulkner 

Robert  S.  Faulkner  came  to  Dansville  from  Steuben  county,  and 
became  a  merchant.  He  was  a  Presbyterian  and  a  careful  student  of 
the  Bible.  His  Bible  readings  led  him  to  draw  a  plan  of  Solomon's 
temple,  which  was  lithographed  and  had  a  large  sale.  He  also  pre- 
pared an  elaborate  address  on  the  three  Jewish  temples,  and  delivered 
it  to  interested  audiences  in  various  places.  He  married  Miss  Eliza- 
beth L.  Todd,  and  they  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  in  1882.  Mr. 
Faulkner  died  October  7,  1886,  aged  seventy-seven. 

John  Goundry 

John  Goundry  moved  to  Dansville  from  Sparta  about  1840,  and  be- 
came a  merchant  in  partnership  with  Charles  R.  Kern.  Seven  years 
later  he  purchased  the  McCartney  farm  north  of  the  village,  and  re- 
sided there  about  thirty  years,  or  until  his  death,  Oct.  18,  1889.  Be- 
fore coming  to  Dansville  he  dealt  in  lumber,  and  afterward  quite  ex- 
tensively in  real  estate.  He  was  uniformly  successful  in  business 
enterprises,  and  left  a  large  property. 

Ilussell  Day 

Russell  Day,  father  of  Mrs.  John  A.  VanDerlip,  died  in  1864  in  his 
seventy-third  year.  His  residence  on  the  site  of  the  present  Maxwell 
block  is  remembered  by  the  older  citizens.  He  was  a  shrewd  man  full 
of  humor,  and  was  prominent  in  Dansville's  early  life. 


262 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 


James  K^ng 


James  King,  the  oldest 
man  in  this  region  and  for 
over  half  a  century  a  well 
known  and  prosperous  resi- 
dent of  Poag's  Hole  valley, 
was  born  in  Mayo,  Ireland, 
in  1810.  After  living  some 
time  m  England,  he  emi- 
grated to  America  and  set- 
tled near  Dansville  in  1852. 
A  daughter  and  son  are 
still  living;  Mrs.  Fred 
Freyner,  and  Charles  King 
of  Buffalo.  Mr.  King  is  an 
active  old  gentleman  and 
quite  as  ready  to  play  a 
joke  on  other  people  as 
they  are  on  him. 

l^ev.  John  J.   'Brown 

Rev.  John  J.  Brown,  LL.  D. ,  who  was  a  teacher  in  Dansville 
Seminary  on  the  hillside  in  its  early  years,  and  highly  esteemed  as 
citizen  and  educator,  became  a  valued  professor  of  sciences  in  Syracuse 
university  for  many  years  from  the  date  of  its  opening.  There  he 
was  greatly  beloved  by  both  students  and  professors.  He  was  a 
learned  scientist,  a  clear  reasoner,  a  useful  instructor  and  an  interest- 
ing lecturer,  unmarred  by  egotism  or  pretension.  He  was  recognized 
as  a  much  greater  man  than  he  estimated  himself  to  be.  His  wife 
was  a  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Wiley  of  Springwater. 

John  Betts 

John  Betts  came  to  Dansville  from  Buffalo  in  1830,  and  was  in  the 
boot,  shoe  and  tanning  business  here  until  a  few  years  before  his  death, 
June  7,  1887,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Buffalo  Historical  society,  and  his  retentive  memory  made  his  remin- 
iscences very  interesting.  He  was  on  the  first  steamer  that  plied  on 
Lake  Erie  when  it  was  launched  in  1817.  As  militiaman  he  assisted 
in  driving  the  English  from  Grand  Island  in  1819,  in  obedience  to  a 
proclamation  of  Governor  Clinton. 

Joseph  IV.  Smith 

Joseph  W.  vSmith,  long  associated  with  Judge  Vanderlip  as  law 
pai'tner,  came  to  Dansville  from  Bath  in  1842,  and  died  here  in  1876, 
aged  fifty-five.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  William  H.  Reynale. 
He  was  a  very  capable  trial  lawyer,  and  a  popular  citizen. 


BIOGRA PHICA L  ALL USLONS 


263 


Solomon  Hubbard 

Solomon  Hubbard  was  born  in  Schoharie  county  in  1817,  lived  in 
Mayville,  Chautauqua  county,  from  the  age  of  two  to  seventeen,  and 
then  went  to  Buffalo  to  seek  his  fortune.  There  he  learned  the 
printer's  trade,  saved  some  money,  went  to  Lima  to  school,  and 
graduated  from  the  Genesee  Wesleyan  seminary  in  1839.  He  then 
studied  law  in  Buffalo,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1844,  came  to 
Dansville,  and  practiced  law  here  with  conspicuous  success  for  twenty 
years.  In  1863  he  was  elected  county  judge  on  the  republican  ticket, 
and  the  next  year  moved  to  Geneseo,  which  became  his  permanent 
home.  He  was  an  early  advocate  of  temperance,  an  abolitionist  be- 
fore he  was  a  republican,  and  became  one  of  the  most  prominent 
Methodists  of  the  county.  In  rugged  honesty  and  native  talent,  Mr. 
Hubbard  was  of  the  Lincoln  type.  He  was  public  spirited  and 
greatly  interested  in  education.  He  helped  to  establish  both  the  Dans- 
ville seminary  and  the  Geneseo  Normal  school.  He  built  up  a  large 
legal  practice  in  Geneseo,  and  served  a  second  term  as  county  judge. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Robert  Parker,  a  famous  pioneer 
Methodist  preacher  of  Western  New  York.  Judge  Hubbard  died  June 
25,  1902. 

James  S.  Murdoch 


James  S.  Murdock  was  born 
November  2S,  1817,  and  died 
May  16,  1902.  There  has  been 
no  more  familiar  figure  on 
Dansville  streets  than  he  was 
for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury. He  did  hard  work  as  a 
stage  driver  and  drayman  in 
his  earlier  manhood,  and  ex- 
hibited such  qualities  that  his 
fellow  citizens  finally  in  1858 
began  to  elect  him  to  office, 
and  kept  it  up  for  forty-four 
years,  during  which  period  he 
was  constable  and  collector 
continuously.  He  was  so 
faithful,  courageous  and  cor- 
rect in  the  performance  of  his 
official  duties,  and  the  voters 
knew  him  so  well,  that  no  one 
could  defeat  him  at  the  polls. 
He  has  also  held  the  positions 
of  deputy  sheriff  and  chief  of 
police.  He  was  the  oldest 
living  member  of  Canaseraga  lodge  I.  O.  O.  F.,  when  he  died,  and 
had  held  the  office  of  Noble  (rrand  three  terms  and  that  of  Deputy 
Grand  Master  for  Livingston  county  two  years.  He  was  also  a 
Mason,  and  had  been  Master  of  Phoenix  lodge  and  High  Priest  of  the 
Royal  Arch.     The  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  was  deserved. 


264 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 


Mrs.  Mary  ^foyes  ColOin 

Mrs.  Mary  Noyes  Colvin,  oldest  daughter  of  Daniel  W.  Noyes,  is  a 
woman  of  rare  gifts  and  accomplishments.  She  was  educated  at  Mt. 
Holyoke  Female  college,  Mass.,  and  became  an  educator,  commencing 
in  Milwaukee  Female  seminary,  next  going  to  Worcester,  Mass.,  and 
then  to  the  State  Normal  school  of  Geneseo,  where  she  was  precep- 
tress. Resolving  to  obtain  a  broader  culture,  she  went  to  the  Zurich 
university,  Switzerland,  and  there  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Ph. 
D.,  smnma  cum  lauda — the  highest  degree  of  the  kind  that  had  ever 
been  conferred  by  that  university.  Then  she  spent  two  years  in  the 
Paris  library,  translating  the  Provencal  French  for  the  Old  English 
Text  Society,  which  published  her  translations  in  book  form.  A 
committee  went  across  the  water  and  induced  her  to  leave  Europe  and 
take  charge  of  the  Bryn  Mawr  school  in  Baltimore,  where  she  re- 
mained four  or  five  years.  Being  offered  the  chair  of  Philology,  with 
special  reference  to  the  Romance  languages,  in  the  Cleveland,  O., 
Woman's  college,  she  spent  a  year  in  Spain  and  Italy  preparing  for 
the  position.  She  held  it  three  or  four  years,  when  she  and  Mrs. 
Delafield  bought  the  famous  Hersey  school  in  Boston,  Mass.,  which 
they  still  own  and  conduct.  Mrs.  Colvin's  varied  literary  attair- 
ments  include  a  thorough  knowledge  of  five  or  six  languages. 

Erhard  Rau 


One  of  the  largest  landholders 
in  the  county  for  over  a  half 
century  and  a  man  who  reared 
to  manhood  and  womanhood  a 
family  of  sixteen  children  was 
Erhard  Rau.  He  died  Decem- 
ber 6,  1885  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
seven  years.  .He  was  born  in 
Northampton  county.  Pa.,  Sept. 
3,  1788,  and  came  with  his  wife 
and  ten  children  to  reside  in 
Dansville  in  1822.  For  two  years 
he  ran  a  tavern  in  the  village 
and  then  moved  to  Sparta  where 
,,  ^_^U    ^     ^_    t,t     ji..     -^      _      he  lived  until  his  death.     Atone 

-^J^      RASH  1    \^>^^  iT-.i.    ti™^   ^^   possessed     over    1,500 

■  "    iJ^ta^B   I     i&  »_— _         ||.  j    acres  of  land  which  was  later  di- 
ll ij    vided  among  his  sons  and  daugh- 
I  ters. 

Fifteen  of  the  children  married 
i  and  have  descendants  living.  One 
child  when  a  boy  of  fifteen  years, 
was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  tree. 
Mrs.  Sally  Ann  Traxler  and  Mrs.  Mary  Stong  of  Sparta  and  Mrs. 
Susan  Johns  of  Dansville  are  the  daughters  who  still  survive,  and 
Hiram  of  Springwater,  Owen  of  Wayland,  and  David  E.  of  Dansville, 
are  the  sons  who  are  still  living.  John,  another  son,  recently  deceased, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALL USIONS 


265 


was  a  resident  of  South  Dansville.  The  descendants  of  Erhard  Rau 
are  estimated  to  be  over  o(l()  strong. 

\  Daddy  Rau,  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  is  remembered  as  a  man 
possessed  of  man\-  admirable  traits  of  character  and  was  one  of  the 
hardy  pioneers  of  Dansville. 


FOURTEEN    OF    ERHARD    RAU'S    CHILDREN 


Samuel  Wilson 


Samuel  Wilson  was  born  in  1801  in  Pennsylvania,  and  learned  both 
blacksmithing  and  the  saddler's  trade  in  that  state.  He  came  to 
Dansville  in  ]82<),  and  opened  a  saddler  and  harness  shop.  He  mar- 
ried in  1829,  and  the  same  year  put  up  a  frame  building  where  the 
Hedges  block  now  is.  Mr.  Wilson  was  one  of  the  earliest  members  of 
our  Odd  Fellows  lodge,  and  an  influential  ]\Iethodist,  his  home  being 
usually  the  hospitable  stopping  place  of  presiding  elders  and  other 
clergymen  from  abroad.  He  was  one  of  the  California  "fort}^ 
niners, "  but  lived  in  Dansville  the  most  of  the  time  till  1856,  when 
he  went  to  Buffalo,  where  he  died  in  1893  widel}'  esteemed  and  be- 
loved. The  surviving  members  of  the  family  are  two  daughters, 
Misses  Cordelia  M.,  and  Mary  i\I.  Wilson  of  Batavia. 

Col.  S.  W.  Smith 

Col.  S.  W.  vSmith,  who  came  to  Dansville  in  1818  at  the  age  of 
twenty,  died  August  23,  1869.  He  had  been  a  prominent  merchant 
and  was  elected  member  of  assembly  in  1832. 

John  Wilkinson 

John  Wilkinson  died  April  20,  1884,  aged  seventy-si.x.  He  was  a 
good  lawyer  and  for  a  long  time  justice  of  the  peace,  and  possessed 
sterling  qualities  for  which  he  was  universally  esteemed. 


266 


BIOGRA PHICA L  ALL USIONS 


JOSEPH   LEITER 


Joseph  Letter 

Joseph  Leiter,  noted  for  his 
eccentricities  and  ready  wit — the 
oddest  man  in  Dansville — died 
June  30,  1898.  He  was  born  in 
Hagerstown,  Md. ,  Dec.  12,  1797, 
and  was  therefore  over  one  hun- 
dred years  old. 

George  IV.  Clark 

George  W.  Clark  resided  a  long 
time  in  Dansville.  He  had  been 
famous  as  an  abolitionist  singer, 
musical  composer  and  speaker, 
and  also  as  a  temperance  singer 
and  lecturer.  He  published  three 
or  four  books  of  songs.  He 
died  in  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  Jan- 
uary 14,  1899,  aged  seventy- 
eight. 


Gustav  Seyfforth 

Gustav  Seyfforth,  a  distinguished  scholar  and  Egyptologist,  lived 
in  Dansville  a  number  of  years  during  the  seventies  and  early  eighties, 
and  established  a  school  where  he  gave  instruction  on  Main  street  in 
the  building  now  occupied  by  S.  C.  Allen.  He  had  been  a  university 
professor  in  Leipsic,  and  was  succeeded  there  by  George  Ebers,  the 
Egyptologist  and  novelist.  He  went  to  New  York  from  Dansville, 
and  died  there  in  1886,  aged  eighty-nine.  In  a  masterly  article  by 
Ebers,  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  German  Oriental  society  in 
1887,  he  finds  Prof.  Seyfforth  entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
discoverer  of  the  polyphone  hieroglyphics,  and  of  a  very  important 
constituent  of  the  hieroglyphic  system,  namely,  the  syllable  signs. 
Prof.  Seyfforth  also  did  important  work  on  the  so-called  king  papyrus 
of  Turin. 

Joseph  Knappenberg 

Joseph  Knappenberg  was  two  years  old  when  he  came  to  Dansville 
with  his  parents  in  1809  from  Catawissa,  Pa.  They  found  seven  log 
houses  here,  one  of  which  they  rented  for  a  home,  and  looked  out  up- 
on a  wilderness  on  every  side.  They  journeyed  here  in  two  covered 
wagons,  and  it  took  them  two  weeks.  They  drove  two  cows  and  four 
pigs,  strained  the  milk  night  and  morning  into  the  churn,  made  the 
motion  of  the  wagon  do  the  churning,  and  fed  the  buttermilk  to  the 
pigs.     Mr.  Knappenberg  died  Feb.  20,  1885. 

Shepard  Jones 

Shepard  Jones  died  Dec.  1,  1882,  in  his  seventy-first  year.  He  was 
in  the  cabinet  trade  here  for  many  years,  and  built  a  brick  block  on 
Upper  Main  street.  He  was  for  many  years  superintendent  of  Green- 
mount  cemetery. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  ALL USIONS 


2i>7 


Lockwood  L.  Doty 


Lockwood  L.  Doty  was 
born  in  Groveland  March 
15,  liS27.  He  came  to 
Dansville  when  about  14 
years  old  and  found  em- 
ployment in  stores  and  the 
postoffice  for  six  or  seven 
years.  Soon  after  leav- 
ing Dansville  he  was  a 
law  student  in  the  office  of 
]Mr.  John  Young  of  Gene- 
seo;  was  appointed  canal 
appraiser  by  Gov.  Young; 
served  as  deputy  state 
treasurer  under  Treasurer 
Albert  Hunt  and  Treas- 
urer Spaulding;  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  La 
Crosse  &  Milwaukee  rail- 
road company ;  chief  clerk 
in  the  e.xecutive  depart- 
ment under  Gov.  E.  D. 
Morgan ;  private  secretary 
of  Gov.  Morgan  in  his 
second  term  which  in- 
cluded the  exciting  period 
of  the  call  to  arms  in  1861 ; 
private  secretary  under 
Gov.  Seymour;  chief  of 
the  bureau  of  military  records;  deputy  collector  of  customs  in  New 
York  city;  private  secretary  of  U.  S.  Senator  Morgan;  assessor 
of  internal  revenue  in  New  York  city ;  editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Livingston  Republican  ;  pension  agent  of  New  York  city, 
where  he  literally  died  at  his  post  Jan.  18,  1873.  The  world  of  valu- 
able work  conscientiously,  tirelessly  performed  by  Col.  Doty  in  these 
various  positions  is  immeasurable,  almost  astounding,  and  through  it 
all  he  bore  his  labors  so  cheerfully,  so  uprightly  that  he  won  the  praise 
of  all  parties,  with  a  spotless  integrity  unquestioned.  In  the  midst  of 
his  most  arduous  work  Col.  Doty  wrote  a  large  portion  of  his  admir- 
able History  of  Livingston  County,  to  which  he  gave  the  best  ener- 
gies of  a  trained  mind  and  conscientious  devotion  to  the  highest  inter- 
ests of  his  native  county.  This  work,  most  painstaking  and  exhaust- 
ive, was  continued  until  the  pencil  dropped  from  fingers  palsied  by 
death.  As  Christian,  patriot,  husband,  father,  brother,  his  forty-six 
years  of  noble,  useful  life  made  the  world  better  and  happier.  He 
died  in  Jersey  City  Jan.  18,  1873,  of  pulmonary  disease,  aggravated 
undoubtedly,  by  too  close  and  constant  devotion  to  his  work.  Mr. 
Doty  left  five  children,  viz:  Alvah  H.,  Lockwood  R.,  Martha  A., 
Mary  Louise  and  Edwin  M.  Edwin  died  about  ten  years  ago.  Alvah 
is  now  completing  his  second  term  as  health  officer  of  the  port  of  New 


LOCKWOOD   L.    DOTY 


268  BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 

York,  in  which  he  has  greatly  distinguished  himself  and  made  notable 
scientific  advances  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  the  office.  Hon. 
Lockwood  R.  Doty,  a  leading  lawyer  at  Genesee  in  Livingston  county, 
was  an  active  member  of  the  last  constitutional  convention.  Martha ■ 
is  the  wife  of  E.  Fred  Youngs,  surrogate  clerk  of  Livingston  county, 
and  Louise,  the  wife  of  Eugene  W.  Scheffer,  secretary  of  the  New 
York  city  board  of  health.  Sons  and  daughters  in  their  work  and  life 
are  honoring  the  memory  of  their  distinguished  father. 

Matthew  McCartney 

Matthew  McCartney  was  born  in  a  part  of  Sparta  which  now  be- 
longs to  North  Dansville  Oct.  18,  1815,  and  died  in  Dansville  Jan. 
17,  1900.  His  father  was  William  McCartney,  a  man  of  fine  English 
ancestry,  who  came  here  with  Col.  Williamson,  and  was  the  first  man 
married  in  Dansville.  The  most  of  Matthew  McCartney's  active  life 
was  spent  in  mercantile  trade  in  this  village,  where  he  was  always  re- 
spected and  popular,  and  one  of  the  influential  citizens  in  village  af- 
fairs and  movements  for  the  public  good.  He  was  a  reading  man,  a 
thinker,  and  always  more  of  a  leader  than  follower.  He  was  positive 
but  genial  in  the  expression  of  his  views,  which  were  often  novel  and 
interesting.  In  manner  and  spirit  he  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old 
school,  and  his  infinite  humor,  untainted  by  bitterness,  made  him  a 
delightful  companion.  He  served  as  village  trustee  many  terms, 
sometimes  as  president  of  the  village,  and  was  a  trustee  of  the  Dansville 
seminary  from  the  time  it  was  founded  in  1857.  His  religious  views 
were  liberal,  but  he  attended  and  supported  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  was  baptized  into  its  faith  a  short  time  before  his  death.  He 
endured  his  sufferings  patiently,  even  cheerfully,  during  his  long  last 
illness.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife  and  only  daughter  Mrs.  Ellen  M. 
Peltier. 

Olney  B.  Maxwell 

Olney  B.  Maxwell  was  prominently  identified  with  the  business  in- 
terests of  Dansville  for  over  thirty  years,  and  built  its  largest  and  best 
business  block  in  1873.  He  was  public  spirited  and  generous,  with 
attractive  social  qualities,  and  his  friends  were  so  numerous  that  they 
could  not  easily  be  counted.  He  died  July  18,  1875.  Mrs.  George  A. 
Sweet  of  Dansville  and  Mrs.  Henry  C.  Taft  of  Oakland,  CaL,  are  his 
daughters. 

Benedict  Bagley 

Benedict  Bagley  died  Nov.  4,  1878,  aged  seventy-five.  He  practiced 
law  in  Nunda,  N.  Y. ,  and  Covington,  Ky.  In  1860  he  came  to  Dans- 
ville, where  he  was  manager  of  the  Woodruff  paper  mills  until  his 
death,  and  as  such  demonstrated  his  business  ability. 


JUOGRA  PHIL  'A  L  A  LL  US  IONS  269 

Dansville    Physicians 

A  Dansville  physician  has  kindly  furnished  brief  sketches  of  the 
most  of  the  former  and  present  physicians  of  the  village.  Wc  con- 
dense: Dr.  Jonathan  Sill  was  the  next  Dansville  physician  after  Dr. 
James  Faulkner,  but  remained  only  about  a  year,  moving  to  (5encsco, 
where  he  died  in  lS(t7.  The  third  was  Dr.  Sholl,  who  came  in  ISO.S 
and  practiced  here  until  the  year  of  his  death,  1821.  Dr.  Willis  F. 
Clark  came  from  Utica  in  1813,  made  his  permanent  residence  here, 
and  died  October  5,  1858.  Dr.  Josiah  Clark  practiced  here  several 
years  from  about  1820  and  then  moved  to  Livonia.  Dr.  L.  N.  Cook 
first  practiced  in  Livonia  and  Richmond  Hill,  and  moved  to  Dansville 
in  1818,  where  he  practiced  till  1824,  when  he  went  to  Ohio.  He  re- 
turned in  1831,  and  remained' until  his  death  in  1868.  Dr.  William 
H.  Reynale,  who  died  August  7,  1870,  in  his  seventy-seventh  year, 
was  born  in  New  Jersey,  and  came  to  Dansville  the  first  time  in  1814. 
He  graduated  from  the  Medical  university  of  Pennsylvania,  and  prac- 
ticed awhile  in  Eaton,  Pa.,  and  ne.xt  in  Hartland,  Niagara  county. 
From  Hartland  he  came  to  Dansville  to  remain  permanently,  and  was 
called  its  leading  physician.  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Endress  came  to  Dans- 
ville from  Pennsylvania  in  1828,  and  was  for  some  time  associated 
with  Dr.  Reynale,  to  whom  he  was  hardly  second  in  skill  or  reputation. 
Both  were  not  less  esteemed  as  citizens  than  as  physicians.  Dr. 
Endress  died  Feb.  24,  1871,  aged  nearly  67.  Dr.  George  W.  Shepherd 
was  a  resident  of  Dansville  over  half  a  century,  and  commenced  prac- 
tice here  as  a  physician  in  1846.  He  obtained  the  most  of  his  medical 
education  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  He  was  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school  many  years.  He  was 
born  in  Albany  and  died  in  Dansville  in  1897,  aged  eighty-one. 
Edward  S.  Shepherd,  his  youngest  son,  is  a  prominent  business  man 
in  Chicago.  Dr.  Edw.  W.  Patchin  practiced  in  Sparta  four  years, 
then  a  year  in  Livonia,  and  came  to  Dansville  in  1843,  where  he  prac- 
ticed until  1869,  and  died  October  20  of  that  year.  He  was  a  success- 
ful physician  and  safe  counselor.  Dr.  B.  L.  Hovey  practiced  in 
Dansville  from  1842  till  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war.  He  was 
then  appointed  surgeon  of  the  136th  regiment,  and  remained  in  the 
army  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  moved  to  Rochester,  where 
he  now  resides.  Dr.  Zara  H.  Blake,  born  in  Livonia,  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  in  Dansville  with  Dr.  Endress  in  1840,  and  gradu- 
ated from  the  Buffalo  Medical  university  in  1847.  He  began  and  con- 
tinued his  practice  in  Dansville  until  the  Civil  war,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed examining  surgeon  on  the  provost  marshal's  staff  of  this  dis- 
trict, afterward  resuming  practice  here,  where  he  was  one  of  the 
leading  physicians  and  accumulated  wealth.  He  died  in  1888.  Dr. 
George  M.  Blake,  his  son,  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of 
Ann  Arbor  university,  but,  after  practicing  a  few  years  studied  law, 
and  went  to  Rockford,  111.,  where  he  has  achieved  distinction  in  his 
second  profession.  Miss  Josephine  Blake,  his  daughter,  also  graduated 
in  medicine  from  Ann  Arbor  university,  and  practiced  a  short  time. 
Dr.  Davis  of  the  Thompsonian  school,  came  in  184(),  and  had  an  ex- 
tended practice.  His  nephew,  Dr.  George  Davis,  succeeded  him,  and 
the  nephew's  successor  was  Dr.  Ripley.  Dr.  Asahel  Yale  and  Dr. 
Alonzo  Cressy  were   practitioners  here  in    1829,    and    probably   later. 


270  BIOGRAPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 

Dr.  Velder,  a  native  of  Austria,  wlio  studied  medicine  in  tlie  best 
schools  of  Vienna,  came  to  Dansville  about  1850,  and  moved  in  1867 
to  Elmira,  where  he  died.  Dr.  J.  M.  Blakesley  located  in  Dansville 
in  1859,  and  practiced  here  about  eight  years.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Dr.  Isaac  Dix.  Both  belonged  to  the  Homeopathic  school.  Dr.  Dix 
was  succeeded  by  Dr.  B.  P.  Andrews,  who  has  had  a  large  and  grow- 
ing practice  from  that  time  to  the  present.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Brown 
graduated  from  the  Hahnemann  Medical  school  of  Chicago  in  1873, 
came  to  Dansville  in  1877,  and  practiced  here  a  few  years.  Dr.  S.  L. 
Ellis  came  to  Dansville  from  Lima  about  1871,  and  after  building  up 
a  fine  practice  brought  his  medical  career  to  an  end  in  1873  by  shoot- 
ing John  Haas.  Dr.  O.  S.  Pratt  came  from  Byersville  about  1868, 
and  after  practicing  here  a  few  years  fnoved  to  Canaseraga,  where 
he  now  is.  Dr.  Charles  T.  Dildine  studied  with  Dr.  Reynale.  gradu- 
ated from  the  Buffalo  university,  practiced  here  a  short  time,  and 
moved,  first  to  Almond,  and  then  Lincoln,  Neb.,  where  he  was  very 
successful.  An  accident  caused  a  cancer  in  his  stomach,  of  which  he 
died.  Dr.  George  Yochum,  a  native  of  Dansville,  studied  medicine 
with  Dr.  W.  B.  Preston  and  in  1881  after  graduating  from  the  Cin- 
cinnati Eclectic  college,  began  practicing  in  this  village.  He  died 
Sept.  11,  1885,  in  his  twenty-eighth  year.  He  is  remembered  as  a 
young  man  of  unusual  ability.  Dr.  Anthony  Schunhart  came  to 
Dansville  in  1888  and  practiced  medicine  here  for  about  three  years. 
He  died  Sept.  6,  1891,  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  Dr.  A.  L.  Damon, 
a  native  of  Canaseraga,  N.  Y. ,  was  born  June  22,  1862,  and  died  Oc- 
tober 18,  1895.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  Buffalo  and  came  here  to  practice  medicine  in  1892,  re- 
maining here  about  two  years.  Dr.  O.  M.  Blood,  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  practiced  in  Dansville  during  1890  and  1891 
and  is  now  established  in  the  West.  Dr.  Francis  M.  Ferine  is  the  old- 
est living  practicing  physician  in  Dansville,  and  has  had  a  successful 
and  honorable  professional  career  of  over  forty-seven  years.  He  first 
located  himself  in  Byersville,  and  established  himself  in  Dansville  in 
1861,  where  he  has  practiced  ever  since.  The  other  resident  practi- 
tioners today  are  Drs.  Jas.  E.  Crisfield,  C.  V.  Patchin,  B.  P.  An- 
drews, F.  R.  Driesbach,  W.  B.  Preston  and  Dr.  Ella  F.  Preston,  ail  of 
whom  have  practiced  here  many  years,  and  are  physicians  of  skill  and 
repute.  Few,  if  any  villages  in  the  state,  are  favored  with  members 
of  this  important  profession  in  whom  the  sick  and  friends  of  the 
sick  can  so  confidently  trust  to  prescribe  for  diseases  or  perform 
delicate  and  difficult  operations  in  surgery. 


PART  II 


Dansville  of  To-Day 


BY  J.  -W.  BUB.GESS 


T  IS  an  undeniable  fact  that  any  one  who  has  ever 
lived  in  Dansville  for  any  length  of  time,  or  who 
has  had  occasion  to  visit  the  town  long  enough  to 
become  acquainted  with  place  and  people,  always 
likes  to  come  back  again.  There  seems  tn  be  a 
sociability  and  cordiality  about  the  place  that  makes 
^r-i^s  one   feel   at   home   if   one   is  at   all   disposed   to   be 

^f-       '  friendly. 

■Wp  Many  forces   combine    to  produce   this  gracious 

^HHK|  impression  upon   the   dwellers   within  our  borders. 

^^^WT    .         The  salubrity  of  climate;  the  magnificent  scenery; 
^^^Xf^  the  enchanting    walks,    the   bewitching  drives,    the 

^Hi^w_iia  imposing   hills,    the    fertile    valleys,   the    romantic 

glens  and  the  delightful  streams,  all  combine  to  cap- 
tivate and  make  a  lover  of  anyone  who  is  not  absolutely  sordid.  Go 
where  you  will  the  natural  beauty  of  the  place  is  apparent. 

The  kodak  fiend  is  in  his  element,  for  let  him  point  in  any  direc- 
tion he  will  he  cannot  fail  to  find  a  pretty  picture.  This  is  no  fancy 
sketch,  but  a  wretched  attempt  to  place  in  cold  and  prosy  type  a 
few  of  the  many  charming  and  interesting  features  of  a  most  beau- 
tiful village. 


WINTER  SCENE   STONY  BROOK  GI.EN 


6  DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 

There  is  every  indication  that  at  some  time  in  the  remote  past  the 
valley,  in  which  Dansville  is  located,  was  filled  with  water,  and  formed 
another  of  the  chain  of  lakes,  great  and  small,  that  adorn  the  western 
and  central  portions  of  the  Empire  State,  and  by  some  sudden  up- 
heaval, which  tore  away  the  retaining  hills  at  the  northern  boundary, 
or  by  the  more  deliberate  though  equally  effective  process  of  gradual 
disintegration,  the  waters  were  released  from  their  boundaries  and 
nature  adorned  with  verdure  the  valley  that  had  for  ages  been  hidden 
from  view  by  the  sparkling  waters  of  a  lake.  This  lake  was  supplied 
by  the  streams  that  flow  through  deep  gorges,  several  of  which  enter 
the  valley  at  the  southern  boundary  of  Dansville. 


WHITEMAN'S   FALLS   LITTLE   MILL  CREEK 


There  are  Little  Mill  Creek,  Big  Mill  Creek,  Stony  Brook  and.  Can- 
aseraga  Creek,  the  latter  flowing  in  through  Poagshole  valley  and  skirt- 
ing the  base  of  Ossian  hill,  near  the  western  boundary  of  the  town. 
All  the  other  streams  find  their  way  into  Canaseraga  Creek,  through 
which  channel  they  are  borne  to  the  Genesee  River  to  finally  mingle 
with  the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario. 

These  streams  are  the  natural  homes  of  speckled  trout,  and  for 
three-quarters  of  a  century  after  the  first  settler  came  here  their 
waters  teemed  with  this  prince  of  piscatorial  delicacies. 

During  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  the  streams  have  undergone 
a  change.     The  onward  march  of  civilization;  the  woodman's  axe, 


DANSVILLE  OF  TO-DAY  7 

and  the  gradual  clearing  up  of  the  forests,  have  let  the  sunlight  into 
the  ravines  that  were  formerly  almost  impenetrable;  the  springs  and 
swamps  that  furnished  a  never-failing  supply  of  water  have  one  by 
one  dried  up,  until  the  streams  that  once  flowed  with  undiminished 
volume  the  year  round  are  now  spasmodic  and  uncertain. 


FIRST   FALLS   IN    STONY   BROOK    GLEN       (couktesy  or  ButtzE. 


These  swamps  and  springs  formerly  furnished  a  perfect  natural  breed- 
ing place  for  trout,  that  easily  kept  the  streams  stocked,  no  matter 
how  great  the  drain  upon  their  numbers.  With  this  supply  cut  off 
by  the  disappearance  of  these  breeding  beds,  it  is  easy  to  see  how 
the  stock  of  trout  was  gradually  depleted  until,  but  for  the'  annual 
re-stocking  of  the  waters  with  trout  fry  from  the  state  hatcheries, 
through  the  enterprise  of  the  Dansville  Gun  Club,  there  would  not  be 
a  single  specimen  left  in  any  of  the  streams. 


FALLS  NEAR  DANSVILLE  ON  SUGAR  CKEEK 


8 


DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


As  it  is,  many  fine  catches  are  made  every  season,  and  those  who 
know  the  haunts  of  the  wily  trout  can,  when  the  conditions  are  fav- 
orable, enjoy  an  excellent  day's  sport  and  return  home  with  a  well- 
filled  creel. 


STONY   BROOK   GLEN 

Perhaps  the  most  widely  famous  of  these  gorges  is  Stony  Brook 
Glen.  It  is  truly  one  of  Nature's  masterpieces,  and  a  person  must 
be  fastidious  indeed  who  cannot  find  something  about  it  to  admire. 
There  are  gigantic  precipices,  rocky  defiles,  beautiful  cascades,  shady 
pools  and  shooting  rapids.  Unlike  most  of  the  famous  gorges  of  the 
country  it  broadens  out,  so  that  there  is  plenty  of  sunlight  on  cool 
days  and  an  abundance  of  shade  on  hot  ones.  It  is  in  great  demand 
for  picnics  and  excursions  and  is  also  a  favorite  resort  for  family 
parties.  Substantial  bridges  span  the 
streams  at  intervals  and  safe  stairways 
enable  the  excursionist  to  scale  the  var- 
ious falls  in  safety.  Rustic  tables,  sur- 
rounded by  seats,  located  at  intervals 
through  the  Glen,  provide  a  convenient 
means  for  spreading  the  picnic  supplies, 
and  a  large  pavilion  near  the  entrance 
furnishes  a  fine  opportunity  for  light- 
hearted  and 
light-footed  vis- 
itors to  indulge 
their  terpsicho- 
rean     tendencies. 

At    the    upper 
end  of  the  Glen 


the    Pitts  burg 


STONY  BKOOK  GLEN  VIEW        {courtesy  or  Lackawanna  kailroad) 


lo 


DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


and  Shawmut  railroad  crosses  the  gorge  on  a  bridge  that  is  243  feet 
from  the  stream  below.  Hundreds  of  pictures  are  extant  setting 
forth  the  beauties  of  this  romantic  spot,  and  people  who  have  trav- 
elled all  over  the  world  aver  that  it  compares  favorably  with  the  best 
that  nature  has  to   offer   in  this   or  other  lands. 

The  entrance   to    Stony    Brook    Glen  is  about  two   and    one-half 

miles  south  of  the  village  of  Dans- 
ville,  along  one  of  the  many  charm- 
ing drives  that  abound  in  the  vicin- 
ity. It  is  private  property  and  a 
small  admission  fee  is  charged  at  the 
entrance,  where  a  family  resides. 

Near  the  lower  entrance  to  the 
Glen  is  a  gas  vein,  where  from  time 
immemorial  gas  has  bubbled  up 
through  the  water.  Many  years  ago 
a  cone  was  placed  over  it  and  it  was 
conducted  to  the  house  through  a 
pipe  and  used  for  illuminating  pur- 
poses. Some  twenty  years  ago  a 
well  was  drilled  near  this  point,  in 
hopes  of  finding  oil,  but  having 
reached  a  depth  of  1800  feet  the 
drilling  was  abandoned  with  noth- 
ing but  a  small  flow  of  gas  to  show 
for  the  effort.  The  general  belief 
i  was  that  had  the  well  been  shot  a 
considerable  increase  of  gas  might 
have  been  obtained,  but  it  was  never 
done  and  the  derrick  stood  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was  taken 
down  to  prevent  accident.  Later  on,  a  stock  company  was  organized, 
among  the  business  men,  of  which  J.  W.  Burgess  was  president ;  B. 
G.  Foss,  secretary,  and  D.  Foley,  treasurer.  With  the  money  thus 
subscribed  another  well  was  put  down  at  the  upper  end  of  Main 
street.  David  Lamb  had  the  con- 
tract. At  about  five  htmdred  feet  a 
small  vein  of  gas  was  struck,  and  at 
twenty-one  hundred  feet  a  bed  of 
solid  rock  salt  was  struck,  which 
was  over  sixty  feet  in  thickness. 
There  the  tools  were  lost  in  the  well, 
and  as  all  were  satisfied  that  no  oil 
was  in  sight  they  were  left  there  and 
the  well  was  abandoned.  However, 
the  general  belief  is  that  gas  in  pay- 
ing quantities  does  exist  below  this 
village,  or  near  by,  and  that  some 
day  it  will  be  found  and  utilized. 

The  gorge  through  which  Little 
Mill   Creek  finds  its  way  to  the  vil- 
lage  is  not  so  easily  accessible   its  entire  length  as  is  Stony  Brook 
Glen.      The  stream   is  the  most  pure   and   undefiled  of  any  of  the 


BRIDGE   CROSSING    STONY    BROOK    GLEN 

(courtesy    of     LACKAWANNA    RAILROAD.) 


WHERE   OIL  WAS   SOUGHT 

(courtesy  or  dansville  breeze.) 


LITTLE   MILL   CKEEK  VIEW 


LITTLE   MILL   CREEK   EALLS 


12 


DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


streams,  as  its  entire  lengtli  of  four  miles  is  through  farming  lands 
and  deep  ravines.  It  is  fed  entirely  by  springs  and  its  bed  is  all  rock. 
It  is  the  nearest  to  the  village  of  any  of  the  streams,  and  is  so  con- 
veniently located  that  it  has  been  tapped,  and  now  provides  the  village 
an  unlimited  reserve  supply  of  pure  water  for  all  purposes,  with  a 
capacity  that  would  easily  supply  the  needs  of  a  place  ten  times  as  large. 


LITTLE   MILL  CIVEKK 


Big  Mill  Creek  is  another  of  the  streams  that  once  helped  furnish 
water  to  fill  the  lake  that  covered  this  valley,  in  the  dim  and  remote 
past.  It  is  a  considerable  stream,  flowing  into  this  town  from  the 
southeast,  and  just  after  it  reaches  the  town  it  enters  a  pretty  little 
glen  at  what  has  been  known  for  three-fourths  of  a  century  as  Stone's 
Falls.  It  is  a  charming  spot  and  well  worth  anybody's  while  to  visit. 
The  manufacturing  interests  carried  on  here  by  B.  S.  Stone  are  the 
subject  of  a  special  sketch  and  illustrations  in  another  portion  of  this 
book.  Here  is  also  located  Grange  Hall,  the  headquarters  of  Dansville 
Grange,  which  has  been  a  prosperous  society  for  many  years. 

Poagshole  is  another  of  the  gorges  that  lead  into  this  valley,  but 
although  the  entrance  to  it  might  bear  out  this  characterization,  the 
place  itself  will  be  more  correctly  described  if  we  refer  to  it  as  a  val- 
ley, famous  for  the  granduer  of  its  hills  and  the  beauty  of  its  scenery. 
It  is  a  charimng  spot,  and  the  tourist  can  never  claim  to  have  seen  all 
of  Dansville  until  he  has  driven  along  the  quiet  country  road  that 
threads  its  way  through  Poagshole  valley.  Mile  after  mile  the  trav- 
eler follows  the  Canaseraga  Creek,  now  close  beside  it,  now  ci'ossing 
it  over  a  bridge;  now  close  to  a  rustic  fence  covered  with  woodbine, 
clematis  or  bittersweet,  now  alongside  a  field  of  waving  grain  or 
tasseled  corn;  now  stopping  for  a  drink  at  a  substantial  farm  house, 
or  perchance  to  purchase  a  supply   of  the  delicious  grapes  that  here 


D.  I NS I Y/.  /,  /:   O/'   TO- DA  ) ' 


13 


and  there  adorn  the  hillsides.  vSheltered  as  it  is  by  high  hills  on  every 
side,  it  is  always  warmer  in  winter  by  several  degrees  than  the 
country  round,  and  vegetation  of  all  kinds  finds  every  inducement 
to  grow. 


ARTMAN'S  DAM  AND  ENTRANCE  TO  POAGSHOLE 


Poagshole  is  a  paradise  for  hunters  of  small  game,  and  to  this  day, 
when   even   the  stripling  boys  handle  death-dealing  firearms,  there  is 

no  locality  in  the  vicinit_v 
of  Dansville  where  the  sports- 
man is  so  likely  to  bag  par- 
tridge, or  woodcock  or  squir- 
rel as  along  the  swales  and 
in  the  woods  of  this  same 
Poagshole  valley.  Of  course 
the  deer,  for  which  this 
place  was  once  famous,  have 
disappeared  decades  since, 
though  there  are  persons 
still  living  who  can  easily 
remember  when  their  grace- 
ful and  agile  forms  bounded 
over  the  hills,  or  they  nip- 
ped the  tender  shoots  from 
the  shrubs  that  adorned  this 
beautiful  valley,  or  fled  in 
terror  from  the  stealthy  foe 
that  threatened  their  lives.  But  they  have  long  since  lapsed  into  a 
pleasant  memory,  never  to  return,  and  that  too  will  soon  be  nothing 
but  a  tradition,  as  are  the  wild  turkeys  that  once  roosted  in   the   tree 


BLUFF   POINT   NEAR   DANSVILLE 

(COUKTESY    LACKAWANNA    RAILROAD.) 


14 


DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


tops,  for  the  ranks  of  those  who  saw  these  sights  and  heard  these 
sounds  are  thinning  rapidly,  and  the  last  of  them  will  soon  rest  be- 
neath the  sod. 


•.         ■    '    /I    il 


" 


POAGSHOLE   NARROWS 


At  the  entrance  from  the  Dansville  end  of  Poagshole  is  the  "Nar- 
rows, ' '  where  the  stream  flows  at  the  foot  of  a  perfectly  perpendicular 
precipice,  where  the  water*seems  'to  have   gradually  washed  through 


WINTER  SCENE   POAGSHOLE 


the  shaley  rock  during  the  ages  past,  to  reach  its  present  bed  rock 
bottom.  These  abutments  have  gradually  become  covered  with  vines 
and  shrubs  until  they  present  a  most  charming  appearance,  especially 


DAXSr/LLJi  0I<   TO-DAY 


15 


when  tinted  with  the  October  glory.  A  tradition  still  clings  to  this 
locality  of  a  tleer,  when  being  closely  pressed  by  the  remorseless 
hunter,  having  leaped  over  the  precipice  to  the  rocky  bed  below.  And 
it  is  no  tradition,  but  a  fact  well  remembered  by  many,  including  the 
writer,  of  a  once  prominent  business  man  of  the  village,  who  having 
reached  the  latter  end  of  a  dissipated  and  ill-spent  life,  chose  this  spot 
as  the  stage  upon  which  to  enact  the  last  scene  in  the  drama  of  his 
life,  by  deliberately  jumping  from  the  crest  of  the  precipice  and  dash- 
ing his  life  out  upon  the  ice  that  covered  the  stream  at  its  base.  At 
a  comparatively  recent  date  a  man,  working  upon  the  summit,  backed 
his  team  of  horses  over  the  embankment,  making  another  historical 
fact  for  people  to  marvel  over  while  driving  through  the  narrows. 

And  here  too  is  the  famous  swimming  hole,  known  for  half  a  cen- 
tury past  as  "The  Rocks."  It  is  located  close  to  the  main  road, 
though  years  ago  when  the  valley  was  sparsely  settled,  that  fact 
made  little  difference.  But  of  later  years,  since  the  children  and 
grandchildren  of  the  settlers  have  come  to  inhabit  the  valley,  the 
bathers  can  no  more  indulge  with  the  freedom  and  neglige  which  once 
characterized  their  movements,  and  the  time  has  come  when  even  the 
ubiquitous  small  boy  cannot  perform  his  hourly  ablutions  at  "The 
Rocks"  without  clothing  himself  in  a  modern  bathing  suit,  or  bring- 
ing down  upon  his  juvenile  head  the  left-handed  benisons  of  the 
inhabitants. 

Thus  does  the  onward  march  of  civilization  afifect  even  the  young- 
est of  us,  and  this  great  country  grows  less  and  less  a  land  of  liberty 
as  the  years  roll  by,  and  there  is 
every  prospect  that  if  things  go  on 
as  they  are  doing,  in  a  few  more 
decades  the  youth  of  America  will 
have  been  so  far  curtailed  in  his 
God-given  right  to  go  in  swimming 
that  he  will  not  dare  indulge  in  a 
bath  anywhere  but  in  a  tub  in  the 
privacy  of  the  bath-room  at  his  own 
father's  domicile,  and  that  to  nine- 
tenths  of  them  will  mean  no  bath  at 
all.  The  sign  of  the  two  fingers  will 
have  lost  its  meaning  and  the  diso- 
bedience of  the  urchin  will  never 
more  be  betrayed  by  the  bedraggled  scalp-locks  or  the  reversed 
nether  garment. 

There  have  been  numerous  attempts  on  the  part  of  the  dwellers  in 
this  valley  to  change  its  name  for  one  that  would  be  more  euphonious 
and  pretentious,  but  each  attempt  has  been  met  with  discouraging 
failure.  The  most  pronounced  and  persistent  effort  in  this  direction 
was  made  a  few  years  ago,  when  some  of  the  inhabitants  decided 
with  a  desperate  earnestness  that  the  valley  should  be  once  more  re- 
christened.  It  mattered  not  what  the  new  name  should  be,  only  so  it 
was  not  Poagshole.  Pleasant  Valley  had  been  tried  and  found  want- 
ing, as  had  other  names  equally  pretty  and  appropriate,  but  somehow 
they  had  soon  worn  threadbare  and  at  last  disappeared  entirely  under 
the  magic  power  of  the  original  cognomen.     After  much  deliberation 


WAY   UP   IN    POAGSHOLE 
(courtesy  or  Lackawanna  railroad.) 


16 


DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


it  was  decided  that  the  new  name  would  be  more  likely  to  stick  fast 
if  it  were  in  some  way  suggestive  of  its  surroundings,  hence  in  defer- 
ence to  the  beautiful  stream  that  was  responsible  for  the  existence  of 


A    FAMOUS    TROUT    STREAM 


the  valley,  it  was  re-christened  "Canaseraga  Valley."  The  plans 
for  success  were  deeply  laid.  The  new  school  house  was  labeled  with 
a  neat  sign,  bearing  the  number  of  the  school  district   and  the  here- 


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WHERE   IT   IS  ALWAYS   COOL 


DANSVILLE  OF  TO- DA  Y 


17 


after-to-be  name  of  the  valley.  Everybody,  from  near  and  far,  was 
given  to  understand  that  the  homely  old  title,  so  suggestive  of  the 
venerable  Mr.  Poag,  was  consigned  to  oblivion  forever,  beyond  the 
possibility  of  a  resurrection  in  this  world  or  in  the  world  to  come. 
The  newspapers  were  given  to  understand  that  a  lapse  into  the  old 
condition  of  things  would  be  regarded  as  a  mortal  offense,  which 
would  demand  an  immediate  retraction  and  apology. 


BKADNER'S   FALLS 


For  a  time  matters  went  smoothly  and  people  really  seemed  to  make 
a  commendable  effort  to  be  proper  and  accommodatin;^,  and  if,  in  a 
moment  of  abstraction  the  old  name  escaped  their  lips,  a  correction 
immediately  followed  and  the  new  name  was  substituted.  If  an 
editor  or  a  correspondent  happened  to  make  a  break  and  use  the  ob- 
solete and  objectionable  name  instead  of  the  modern  and  revised  and 
up-to-date  one,  he  was  reminded  of  his  indiscretion  in  no  gentle  terms 
and  warned  to  be  more  careful  in  the  future. 

The  world  in  general  must  be  credited  with  having  made  a  good, 
honest  endeavor  to  adapt  itself  to  the  new  order  of  things  and  con- 
form rigidly  to  the  revised  code.  But  never  was  the  old  adage  con- 
cerning "old  dogs"  and  "new  tricks"  more  forcibly  illustrated  than 
in  this  instance.  The  more  people  thought  upon  the  matter  the  more 
the  new  name  seemed  to  be  an  unwelcome  innovation.  To  the  citi- 
zens of  Dansville  it  seemed  like  parting  not  only  with  the  name,  but 
also  with  all  right,  title  and  interest  in  the  beautiful  and  romantic 
suburb,  for  the  new  name  clearly  separated  it  from  the  old  associa- 
tions at  this  end,  and  annexed  it  to  the  village  of  Canaseraga,  located 
at  the  other  end  ot  the  valley.  It  did  not  take  Dansville  long  to 
decide  that  come  what  would  she  would  never  submit  to  such  unjust 
usurpation  without  a  struggle.     It,   however,   required  no  effort  on 


18 


DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


the  part  of  our  people  to  return  to  the  old  order  of  things,  for  they 
simply  relaxed  their  vigilance  and  things  returned  naturally.  The 
name  by  which  the  valley  had  been  designated  for  a  century,  after 
having  been  for  a  season  crushed  to  earth,  began,  like  Truth,  to  rise 
again,  and  was  once  more  greeted  with  open  arms,  and  in  an  incred- 
ibly short  time  found  itself  again  in  universal  use,  and  now  the  old, 
homely,  time-honored,  fire-tested  name  is  so  firmly  entrenched  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people  at  large  that  not  even  an  act  of  legislature  could 
permanently  change  or  even  cripple  it. 


BR.ADNER  CREEK  VIEW 


All  honor  to  Mr.  Poag,  who  squatted  the  claim,  and  to  all  the  noble 
band  of  pioneers  who  followed  him.  They  have  wrested  from  the 
jaws  of  a  rocky  wilderness  one  of  the  prettiest  valleys  in  the  State, 
and  spread  out  green  meadows  and  fields  of  waving  grain  and 
erected  substantial  farmhouses  and  turned  loose  the  grazing  cattle 
upon  a  thousand  hills,  where  once  the  frightened  scream  of  the 
panther  and  the  weird  hoot  of  the  owl  gave  answer  to  the  war  whoop 
of  the  untutored  savage  as  it  echoed  through  the  primeval  forest. 

Just  how  Poagshole  received  its  name  nobody  at  the  present  time 
seems  to  know.  We  have  repeatedly  questioned  the  "oldest  inhab- 
itants" but  always  meet  with  the  same  response,  that  it  gloried  in 
that  name  when  they  first  knew  it.  There  are  several  traditions 
relating  to  this  feature  of  the  valley,  and  the  one  that  seems  to  be 
most  reasonable  and  the  one  most  generally  accepted  as  a  fact,  is  that 
which  gives  the  original  squatter,  Mr.  Poag,  credit  for  having  buried 
a  lot  of  potatoes  in  a  pit,  which  later  on  was  looted  by  an  unprincipled 
neighbor,  who  was  subsequently  arrested,  and  a  lawsuit  ensued.  This 
being  a  great  event  in  those  early  days,  it  brought  into  such  prom- 
inence Mr.    Poag  and  his  potato  hole,  or  "Poag's  hole"  as  it  was]|re- 


D.  I  .VS 1 7L  /,  /:   OF  TO-  Ih  I  V 


19 


ferred  ti>  in  the  lawsuit,  that  the  name  stuck  fast  and  was  gradaully 
shortened  into  a  single  word,  by  which  it  is  known  to  this  day  and 
will  doubtless  continue  to  be  known  so  long  as  grass  grows  and 
water  runs. 


THE  WILLOWS   ON   CANASEKAGA   CREEK 


If  one  tires  of  "gorge"ous  scenery  and  hilltop  views,  and  longs  for 
something  more  tropical,  he  has  but  to  drive  down  the  valley,  below 
the  village,  and  his  longing  can  be  fully  satisfied. 


VIEW   ON    CANASERAGA   CREEK 


20 


DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


The  waters  from  these  several  streams  have  blended  with  those  of 
the  Canaseraga  before  they  pass  beyond  the  corporate  limits  of  the 
village,  so  that  the  Canaseraga  becomes  quite  a  pretentious  and  re- 
sistless torrent.  When  it  reaches  the  fiats  below  the  village,  it 
becomes  for  miles  and  miles  a  lazy,  sluggish  stream,  wandering  about 
in  a  seemingly  aimless  manner  from  side  to  side  of  the  valley,  curv- 
ing at  times  for- a  distance  of  half  a  mile,  only  to  turn  and  curve  back 
again  within  a  few  rods  of  the  starting  point.  Much  valuable  land  is 
thus  lost  to  cultivation,  which  would  be  speedily  reclaimed  and  made 
tillable  if  the  channel  of  the  stream  were  straightened.  Several 
attempts  have  been  made  by  those  interested  to  induce  the  legislature 
to  have  the  work  done  at  the  expense  of  the  State,  but  thus  far  these 
efforts  have  been  unsuccessful,  for  various  reasons. 


PASTORAL  SCENE   ON  THE  FLATS" 


The  rich  alluvial  soil  furnishes  a  natural  home  for  shrubs,  climbing 
vines  and  flowering  plants,  and  here  they  grow  in  tropical  luxuriance, 
climbing  up  the  trees  that  border  and,  in  many  cases,  completely  span- 
ning the  stream ;  their  graceful  tendrils  hang  in  festoons  from  the 
branches  and  are  reflected  in  the  lazy  waters  beneath  in  a  manner 
strongly  suggestive  of  the  tropics.  A  drive  of  a  few  miles  down  one 
side  of  the  valley  and  then  across  and  back  on  the  other  side,  will  give 
the  lover  of  nature  something  to  ponder  over  for  years  to  come.  There 
is  no  finer  farming  land  anywhere  on  earth  than  is  found  on  the  "flats" 
below  this  village.  Midway  between  the  hills,  through  the  center  of 
the  valley  lies  the  roadbed  of  the  Dansville  and  Mt.  Morris  railroad, 
which  connects  with  the  Erie  at  Mount  Morris  fourteen  miles  below. 
A  large  amount  of  business  is  done  over  this  road,  especially  in  the 
line  of  freight.  This,  with  the  D.  L.  &  W.  railroad,  furnishes  ample 
shipping  facilities,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  belieye  that  within  a 


DAXSVILLE  OF  TO-DA  Y  21 

year  or  two  an  electric  railway,  and  i)erhaps  two,  already  surveyed  by 
the  Rochester  &  Southern  Traction  Company,  and  the  Rochester, 
Corning  and  Elmira  Electric  Company,  will  go  through  the  village, 
connecting  it  with  Rochester  at  one  end  and  Elmira  at  the  other. 

Approach  Dansville  from  any  direction  and  the  first  feature  that 
strikes  the  eye  is  the  glorious  old  "East  Hill."  So  thoroughly  is  it 
identified  with  the  village  itself  that  they  are  and  always  will  be 
inseparable.  The  eastern  boundary  of  the  town  extends  beyond  its 
summit,  and  the  corporation  line  is  half  way  up  the  hill.  If  this 
eminence  were  located  in  some  sections  of  the  country  it  would  be 
referred  to  as  a  mountain,  but  in  this  region  of  hills  the  pioneers  were 
content  to  name  it  "East  Hill"  and  their  descendants  have  never 
sought  to  be  more  ambitious  in  that  respect  than  were  their  ancestors, 
hence  it  is  still  referred  to  as  a  hill. 

East  Hill  rises  abruptly  to  the  height  of  a  thousand  feet,  and  its 
summit  is  one  mile  from  the  Main  street  of  the  village.  At  its  base 
the  village  has  gradually  crept  up  the  incline,  until  a  considerable 
portion  of  it  is  now  above  the  level  of  the  valley.  The  pure  air, 
magnificent  view  and  the  scarcity  of  desirable  building  sites  in  the 
center  of  the  village,  have  all  tended  to  attract  people  to  this  locality. 
Added  to  this  the  fact  that  the  Jackson  Sanatorium,  one  of  the  largest 
health  resorts  in  the  world,  was  born  and  has  always  lived  and  thrived 
a  third  of  the  way  up  the  hillside,  and  that  the  D.  L.  &  W.  railroad 
traverses  the  hill  midway  between  the  base  and  summit,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  tide  of  emigration  has  moved  eastward  and  covered 
the  base  of  the  hill  with  residences  for  a  considerable  distance. 

No  longer  than  two  score  years  ago  this  hill  above  the  village  was  a 
mass  of  forest,  broken  only  by  a  road  that  wound  its  circuitous  way 
to  the  summit  where  could  be  seen  the  white  house  of  Isaac  Deiter, 
on  what  was  known  as  Sky  Farm.  The  trees  have  gradually  disap- 
peared before  the  woodman's  axe  until  but  few  remain.  In  their 
place  is  acre  after  acre  of  vineyard,  and  a  few  years  more  will  find  the 
hillside  completely  covered  with  grapes,  for  which  the  location  and 
soil  are  admirably  adapted. 

In  the  early  80's  the  hill  received  a  wound  which  left  a  scar  entirely 
across  its  fair  face,  for  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  Rail- 
road secured  the  right  of  way  and  blasted  its  road  bed  about  half  way 
up  the  hill,  or  450  feet  above  the  base.  Now  the  locomotives  puff 
where  the  squirrels  used  to  bark,  and  the  sparks  from  passing  loco- 
motives have  set  fire  to  the  undergrowth  so  many  times  that  even  the 
partridge  and  rabbits,  that  were  once  so  plentiful,  can  no  more  find 
cover  in  which  to  hide  and  propagate.  The  view  from  the  summit  of 
East  Hill  is  one  never  to  be  forgotten.  As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach 
in  almost  every  direction  there  opens  up  a  panorama  that  cannot  be 
excelled,  go  where  you  will. 

The  distant  hills,  checkered  with  fields  and  woods  and  dotted  with 
farmhouses;  the  pretty  village  nestled  at  your  feet,  with  the  streets 
laid  out  in  squares  and  bordered  with  shade  trees;  the  church  spires 
pointing  to  better  and  higher  things;  the  smoke  ascending  from  the 
tall  chimneys  of  numerous  manufactories;  the  handsome  residences 
and  well-kept  lawns  and  gardens,  and  the  substantial  brick  blocks  that 
adorn  both  sides  of  the  ample  business  portion   all  combine  to  make 


DANSVILLE  OF  TO-DA  Y  23 

a  picture  that  one  never  tires  of  gazing  at,  and  the  person  who  has 
never  taken  an  early  morning  walk  up  the  winding  road  to  the  sum- 
mit of  East  Hill,  resting  now  and  then  to  drink  in  the  scenery  as  it 
unfolds  to  the  eye,  and  watched  the  first  rays  of  the  sun  as  they  tint 
the  distant  hill  tops  and  gradually  creep  down  until  the  whole  valley 
sparkles  in  its  new  found  light,  has  missed  an  experience  that  is  well 
worth  going  miles  to  see.  Especially  is  this  true  when  the  trees  are 
in  bloom,  for  every  dooryard  and  garden  in  the  village  looks  like  a 
bouquet ;  and  in  the  autumn,  when  Nature  has  tinted  the  forests  in 
their  rich  and  variegated  hues,  and  every  shrub  and  shade  tree  in 
every  street  of  the  village  is  ablaze  with  October  glory,  the  view 
presented  is  one  never  to  be  forgotten. 

The  beauty  of  Dansville,  as  it  lies  nestled  among  the  hills,  forms  one 
of  the  most  attractive  bits  of  scenery  for  which  the  Lackawanna  rail- 
road is  famous.  The  story  is  told  that  when  the  road  was  being 
built  the  engineer  of  the  construction  train,  as  he  came  nearer,  day 
by  day,  to  the  valley,  became  more  and  more  curious  to  know  what 
sort  of  a  "jumping-off"  place  it  was  just  beyond  where  he  could  see. 
Gradually  the  track  was  lengthened  and  he  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
until  one  bright  morning  his  locomotive  rounded  the  corner  of  East 
Hill  and  this  scene  of  wondrous  beauty  burst  upon  his  vision.  His 
astonishment  and  delight  are  experienced  by  every  passenger  who 
rides  over  the  road,  especially  for  the  first  time,  and  the  seats  on  that 
side  of  the  train  are  sure  to  be  chosen  first,  as  one  never  tires  of  gaz- 
ing at  the  moving  panorama  that  seems  to  unfold,  mile  after  mile,  as 
the  train  moves  on  its  way  down  the  hill. 

In  order  to  make  the  ascent  of  the  hill  it  was  necessary  to  establish 
an  unusually  heavy  grade  for  several  miles  west  of  Dansville,  and 
nearly  the  same  distance  east.  This  necessitates  the  constant  use  of 
pushers  on  all  heavily  laden  trains,  and  almost  any  hour  of  the  day  or 
night  may  be  seen  from  the  village  these  ponderous  locomotives,  two, 
or  sometimes  three,  on  a  long  freight  train,  puffing  slowly  up  the  in- 
cline, or  like  a  farmer  after  his  day's  work  is  complete,  they  return 
leisurely  back  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  only  to  give  a  lift  to  the  next 
train  that  may  need  their  assistance.  In  violent  contrast  to  these  slow 
moving  machines,  are  the  locomotives  that  go  screaming  and  scooting 
back  and  forth,  day  and  night,  over  the  road,  drawing  some  of  the 
fastest  trains  in  the  world,  and  delivering  to  its  destination  in  a 
marvelously  short  time  tons  of  express  matter  and  United  States 
mail,  or  a  still  more  precious  cargo  of  human  freight. 

Protected  as  it  is  upon  three  sides  by  high  hills,  this  spur  of  the 
Genesee  Valley  in  which  Dansville  is  located  is  naturally  warmer  than 
the  surrounding  territory,  and,  as  a  result,  vegetation  here  is  usually 
from  two  to  three  weeks  in  advance  of  that  in  all  the  country  around. 
Market  gardeners,  truck  raisers,  and  grape  men  find  in  this  fact  a 
wonderful  advantage,  in  that  they  can  raise  their  products  enough  in 
advance  of  their  neighbors  to  afford  them  a  ready  market  in  the  sur- 
rounding towns.  It  is  not  at  all  unusual  to  see  the  grass  green  in  the 
spring,  down  in  the  valley,  while  the  winter's  snow  still  whitens  the 
hill  tops  that  bound  the  town,  and  on  the  other  hand  the  hill  dwellers 
have  good  sleighing  for  weeks  together,  at  times,  when  the  roads  are 


DAXSVILLE  OF  TO-DAY  25 

bare  in  the  village.  But  if  they  cannot  have  both,  our  people  prefer 
the  early  vcoetables  to  the  protracted  sleighing. 

Dansville  may  justly  boast  of  her  nursery  interests,  which  give  em- 
ployment to  a  large  number  of  men  and  boys  and  which  bring  thou- 
sands of  dollars  annually  into  the  coffers  of  the  town,  through  the  nat- 
ural channels  of  trade.  The  climate  and  soil  seem  to  be  especially 
adapted  to  the  producing  of  nursery  trees  in  perfection,  and  their 
fame  has  gone  out  over  all  the  land.  This  feature  of  Dansville  forms 
the  subject  of  a  more  extended  write-up  in  another  part  of  this  book. 

Few  towns  of  its  size  have  so  many  first-class,  up-to-date  business 
houses  as  has  Dansville.  Her  Main  street  extends  the  entire  length 
of  the  town  and  the  business  portion  has  been  macadamized  in  the 
latest  approved  manner,  with  a  uniform  curb  the  entire  length  of 
both  sides.  Most  of  the  sidewalks  through  Main  street  are  of 
cement,  and  those  which  are  not  will  be  in  a  very  short  time.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  walks  thniughout  the  village,  and  thousands  of 
feet  of  cement  walks  are  being  laid  each  year.  An  ordinance  stipu- 
lates that  they  must  conform  to  a  uniform  grade  and  be  four  feet  wide. 

The  buildings  on  Main  street  are  for  the  most  part,  of  brick,  two 
and  three  stories  in  height,  and  present  a  well-kept  and  thrifty  ap- 
pearance. The  merchants  take  pride  in  keeping  their  respective 
places  of  business  tidy,  and  there  is  always  enough  competition  to 
stimulate  each  one  to  do  his  best.  A  goodly  proportion  of  the 
patronage  enjoyed  by  Dansville  merchants  comes  from  the  farmers 
who  live  adjacent  to  the  town.  As  there  is  no  other  village  within 
several  miles  there  is  a  large  territory  of  excellent  farming  land  on 
all  sides,  which  is,  as  a  rule, owned  by  the  men  who  work  it  and  who 
are  for  the  most  part  frugal  and  industrious  people,  whose  trade  is 
well  worth  looking  after.  In  order  fully  to  appreciate  the  number 
of  farmers  who  make  Dansville  their  trading  place  one  must  be  here 
on  almost  any  Saturday,  or  holiday,  and  see  the  crowded  condition  of 
the  street. 

There  are  a  number  of  establishments  in  town  which  give  employ- 
ment to  men  and  women,  and  boys  and  girls,  who  receive  their  pay 
weekly  and  this  in  turn  is  spent  at  the  stores,  making  a  steady  source 
of  trade  for  the  merchants.  Each  of  these  enterprises  form  the  sub- 
ject of  a  special  sketch  elsewhere  in  this  book. 

The  village  people  have  drifted  into  a  habit  of  deferring  much  of 
their  trade  until  Saturday  night,  and  as  a  result  Main  street  on  any 
pleasant  Saturday  night  is  literally  crowded  with  people,  mostly 
dressed  in  their  best  and  all  with  cash  in  their  pockets,  or  bundles 
under  their  arms,  and  the  merchants  have  long  since  come  to  look 
forward  to  the  "Saturday  night  trade"  as  something  that  can  be  de- 
pended upon,  and  it  often  swells  to  satisfactory  proportions  the  trans- 
actions of  a  week  that  would  otherwise  be  a  failure.  Even  in  the 
face  of  the  numerous  financial  disasters  which  have  befallen  Dansville 
in  recent  years,  very  few  failures  have  ever  been  recorded  among  her 
business  men,  and  this  fact  proves  better  than  any  other  evidence 
that  her  business  interests  are  on  a  sound  financial  footing  and  her 
merchants  are  content  to  do  a  safe  business  rather  than  jeopardize 
their  financial  security  by  branching  out  upon  a  larger  and  more 
problematical  scale. 


26  DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


Briefly  StimniEtrized  Oansville  Has  : 

Two  Paper  Mills 
Three  Foundries 
Three  Planing  Mills 

Four  Cereal  Food  Manufactories 
Two  Cereal  Drink  Manufactories 
Three  Flouring  Mills 
Two  Shoe  Factories 

Three  Weekly  Newspapers 
Two  Monthly  Magazines 
Granite  Works 

Electrotype  Foundry 

Pump  and  Poke  Factory 

Gas   and   Electric  Light    Plant 
Wagon  Manufactory 
Eight  Churches 
Three  District  Schools 

Fine  Macadamized  Main  Street 
Splendid  System  of  Water  Works 
Backed  by  Solid  Masonry  Reservoir 
Of  Over  3,000,000  gallons  Capacity 
Two  good  Banks 
Hospital 
Sanatorium 

Correspondence  School 
School  of  Business 
Brewery 
Extensive  Nursery  Interests. 


I    DaiisvilleasanealtKR.esort    | 

J  By  James  H.  JacKson,  M.  D.  1 


THE  first  intimation  that  the  natural  advantages  of  Dans- 
ville  as  a  health  resort  were  recognized  and  were  to  be 
utilized,  occurred  in  the  year  1852.  The  building  origin- 
ally known  as  the  Water  Cure  was  begun  in  that  year  and 
though  not  finished  entirely  until  seven  years  afterwards, 
was  occupied  as  a  Water  Cure  ofl:  and  on  for  several  years. 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Bingham  and  Mr.  Lyman  Granger  were 
the  builders  and  owners.  Mr.  Bingham  transferred  his 
interest  to  Abraham  Pennell  of  Richmond,  f)ntario  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  the  year  1854  and  very  soon  afterwards  Mr. 
Granger  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  Pennell.  In  1854  Mr. 
Stevens,  Mr.  Pennell's  son-in-law,  opened  a  AVater  Cure  in  this  build- 
ing on  the  east  hillside  above  Dansville  and  conducted  it  for  about  a 
year,  not  succeedin;j;  to  his  anticipations.  Then  there  was  an  interim 
of  a  year  and  in  1S5()  a  Dr.  Blackall  of  New  York  conducted  the  insti- 
tution for  a  portion  of  the  year,  and  not  succeeding,  the  building  lay 
idle  until   October   1,    1S5S,    when   it  passed  into  the  management  of 


Dr.  James  Caleb  Jackson.  Thus  began  the  health  movement  as  re- 
lated to  Dansville.  All  through  the  eastern  and  middle  states  were 
springing  up  large  and  small  concerns  under  the  name  of  Water 
Cures.  As  water  was  the  agent  of  therapeutic  value  it  naturally  fol- 
lowed that  these  institutions  were  related  to  some  valuable  spring  of 
water,  either  medicinal  because  of  its  mineralization,  or  beneficial 
because  of  its  exceeding  purity  and  freedom  from  organic  mineral 
matter.  The  spring  at  Dansville,  which  was  the  leading  factor  in 
this  first  step  toward  realizing  the  possibilities  of  the  town  as  a  Sana- 
torium was  first  known  as  the  All  Healing  Spring.  It  burst  out  of 
the  side  of  the  eastern  mountain  one  night  in  the   year  1776,  carrying 


27 


DANSVILLE  AS  A  HEALTH  RESORT  29 

away  earth,  rocks,  and  trees  and  since  then  has  steadily  flowed,  a 
blessing  to  mankind.  The  qualities  of  this  spring  water  are  shown 
by  the  following  analysis  by  W.  A.  Noyes  of  the  Rose  Polytechnic 
Institute,  Terre  Haute,  Ind: 

A.natlj'ses  of  AW  Healing'  Spring. 

Grains  and  U.  8.  Gallon. 

Silica 0.303 

Alumina 0.023 

Iron  Bicarbonate 0.018 

Calcium    Sulphate 0.198 

Calcium  Bicarbonate 3.704 

Magnesium   Bicarbonate 1.137 

Sodium  Chloride 0.292 

Sodium  Nitrate 0.332 

Potassium  Nitrate 0.152 


Total 6.159 

Its  special  value  therapeutically  is  due  to  its  alkaline-calcic  com- 
position and  is  particularly  adapted  to  the  relief  and  cure  of  diseases 
of  the  kidney  and  bladder  and  also  to  the  carrying  away  as  a  solvent 
all  waste  material  of  the  tissues  of  the  body,  because  of  its  comparative 
softness  and  freedom  from  mineralization,  especially  the  objectionable 
salts  of  lime.  The  water  of  other  springs  in  and  about  Dansville  is 
noted  for  its  purity  and  abundance  and  even  the  wells  in  the  old  days 
contained  water  that  was  e.xceptionally  good.  Now  the  town  is  sup- 
plied with  an  admirable  water  system,  giving  the  best  and  purest 
spring  water  to  its  inhabitants. 

Eminent  medical  scientists,  however,  have  found  a  number  of  other 
conditions  favorable  to  Dansville  as  a  health  resort,  in  addition  to  its 
water  supply.  The  town  of  Dansville  is  a  natural  sanitarium,  posses- 
sing the  following  advantages  and  attractions: 

(a)  The  very  best  of  water  in  quality  and  abundant  supply. 

(b)  The  soil  and  sub-soil  admits  of  thorough,  even  rapid,  absorp- 
tion of  moisture  that  might  otherwise  be  in  excess.  There  are  no 
boggy  or  swampy  places  within  the  confines  of  or  adjacent  to  the 
town,  or  in  such  proximity  as  to  cause  dangerous  conditions  arising 
from  exhalations.  Fogs  are  almost  unknown ;  cases  of  malarial  pois- 
oning are  almost  unknown.  There  are  no  objectionable  crops  raised, 
the  refuse  of  which  being  plowed  under  ground  produce  exhalations. 

(c)  The  atmospheric  conditions  are  entirely  healthful,  by  reason  of 
the  comparative  dryness  of  the  climate.  Hygrometric  observations 
for  a  series  of  years  show  the  conditions  at  Dansville  are  such  as  to 
cause  it  to  rank  in  the  class  of  second  best  according  to  the  United 
States  surveys.  Of  course  it  cannot  be  expected  that  this  region  can 
compete  in  atmospheric  dryness  with  the  high  altitudes  of  the  West 
and  Southwest  near  the  Alkali  Desert  region.  Consumption  originat- 
ing here  is  a  rare  disease,  so  is  bronchitis  and  throat  difficulty. 
Dansville  is  situated  on  an  isothermal  line,  which  accounts  for  the 
fact  that  it  is  cooler  in  summer  and  warmer  in  winter  than  adjacent 
sections  of  country,  cool  nights  being  the  rule  in  hot  weather.  These 
facts  are   marked  when  comparisons  are  made  with  temperatures  of 


30 


DESCRIPTIVE  SECTION 


surrounding  country  and  are  due  to  the  peculiar  formation  of  moun- 
tain and  valley.  Dansville  is  sheltered  so  that  east  and  west  winds 
do  not  reach  it,  except  on  rare  occasions  for  a  few  hours,  and  the 
south  winds  are  broken  by  the  southern  hills  closing  the  valley  in 
which  Dansville  lies,  being  a  mile  distant  from  the  town.  There  is 
probably  not  quite  as  much  sunshine  (many  sunny  days)  as  in  regions 


more  remote  from  the  lakes,  but  there  can  be  little  to  find  fault  with 
in  this  direction.  Insect  pests,  particularly  mosquitos  are  very  few. 
(d)  Dansville  lies  about  seven  hundred  feet  above  sea  level  and  is 
situated  in  a  valley  tributary  to  the  famous  Genesee  Valley,  entering 
the  latter  at  Mount  Morris,  fourteen  miles  to  the  northwest.  This  is 
a  region  of  great  scenic  beauty ;  ranges  of  hills,  reaching  from  twelve 


DJNSJ7LLB  AS  A  HEALTH  RESORT  31 

to  fifteen  hundred  feet  abcive  sea  level,  surrounding  charming  valleys; 
woodland  and  highly  cultivated  farms,  interspersed  with  orchards, 
water-falls  in  lovely  gorges,  lakes  and  far  distant  views,  make  up  its 
scenic  .attractions. 

The  drives  are  unusually  delightful  and  the  walks  on  a  whole  very 
good.  The  village  of  Dansville  has  a  population  of  about  thirty-five 
hundred,  is  charmingly  located  and  has  fine  streets,  dwellings, 
schools,  churches,  and  opera  house,  fine  golf  links  and  tennis  courts, 
while  The  Jackson  Sanatorium  is  a  special  inducement  to  health 
seekers.  Railroad,  telephone  and  telegraphic  connections  are  the 
best;  it  is  only  eight  hours  ride  from  New  York  City  and  twenty-four 
hours  from  Chicago  by  through  trains. 

In  the  past  fort)^  years  many  thousands  of  persons  have  sought  and 
found  in  Dansville  health,  rest  and  recreation,  and  these  remember 
their  experiences  as  pleasant  and  beneficial. 


Orgamzations 


CHURCHES 


THe    German    Evangelical 

LutKeran    CKurcK 

From  a  transcript  of  the  German  writing  contained  on  the  first 
and  second  pages  of  the  documentary  record  placed  in  the  corner  stone 
of  the  church  in  1862,  we  find  that  no  pastor  of  this  particular  faith 
visited  Dansville  until  1809.  The  church  historian  states  that  among 
the  early  settlers  came  many  Germans  from  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey 
and  Maryland,  most  of  whom  were  of  the  Evangelist  Lutheran  and 
reformed  congregations. 


GERMAN  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 

The  first  pastor  Rev.  Mr.  Markel,  was  called  here  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, preaching  every  four  weeks  in  both  German  and  English  in  the 
school  house.  Being  forced  by  old  age  to  retire  from  the  ministry  in 
1815,  Mr.  Markel  was  not  succeeded  by  a  regular  pastor  until  1823, 
when  the  services  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wilbur  were  secured  for  about  a  year 
and  a  half. 


35 


36  ORGANIZATIONS 

In  September  1825,  Rev.  Mr.  Marten  from  Sunbury,  Conn.,  took 
it  upon  himself  after  having  at  this  time  become  the  regular  pastor  of 
these  people,  to  combine  their  interests  so  that  a  church  edifice  might 
be  built  to  answer  for  both  congregations.  The  enterprise  was  finally 
agreed  upon  and  under  the  name  of  St.  Jacob  the  house  was  to  be 
dedicated.  The  trustees  under  which  the  church  was  btiilt  were,  on 
the  Lutheran  side :  Jacob  Opp,  John  Hartman,  and  Abraham  Zerfass, 
and  on   the  reformed  side:   Daniel   Hamsher  and  Phillip    Kershner. 

The  building  committee  was  composed  of  Abraham  Zerfass,  John 
Hass,  John  Hartman,  Jacob  Welch,  Sr. ,  and  Adam  Hamsher.  The 
church  officers  on  the  Lutheran  side  were:  Elder,  Jacob  Opp; 
Deacons,  Abraham  Zerfass,  and  John  Hass  ;  and  on  the  Reformed 
side  were  :  Elders,  Daniel  Hamsher,  Solomon  Fenstermacher ;  and 
Deacons,  George  Knaus,  and  Christian  Fritch.  Daniel  G.  Allmend- 
inger  was  the  clerk  whose  signature  was  attached  to  the  document 
from  which  the  above  information  was  compiled. 

Just  when  the  church  was  first  organized  has  never  been  recorded, 
but  it  was  among  the  earliest  in  the  village  and  the  first  to  erect  a 
house  of  worship,  the  corner  stone  of  which  w;as  laid  on  the  4th  day 
of  July,  1826,  the  date  made  famous  in  history  by  the  almost  simul- 
taneous deaths  of  ex-Presidents  of  the  United  States,  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson.  The  ceremonies  attending  the  laying 
of  the  corner  stone  were  participated  in  by  the  Masonic  fraternity  of 
the  village  and  surrounding  towns,  a  Military  Company  and  a  large 
concourse  of  people.  Abraham  Vrooman  was  the  master  builder  who 
constructed  this  substantial  edifice. 

In  November  of  the  same  year,  the  church  was  dedicated  under  the 
pastorate  of  Joseph  Martin,  who,  after  serving  this  church  faithfully 
for  many  years,  accepted  a  call  from  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  where  he  died. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Wells  and  Rev.  Mr.  Earnhardt  served  the  parish  for 
the  next  two  or  three  years,  the  church  having  no  settled  pastor. 

Rev.  David  Lester  was  the  next  minister  in  charge  of  the  church,  of 
which  any  record  has  been  kept,  and  he  was  followed  by  Rev.  Messrs. 
Strover,  Selmser,  Miller,  Sternberg,  Lautz,  Klein,  Strobel,  Borchard, 
Rumpff,  Boyer  and  Young,  until  1874  when  Rev.  Paul  L.  Menzel 
commenced  his  labors  as  pastor  continuing  in  this  capacity  until 
1887,  removing  that  year  to  Richmond,  Va. ,  where  he  now  resides. 
Rev.  Richard  Krause,  now  of  Perkinsville,  N.  Y.,  was  the  minister 
from  1887  to  1897.  Rev.  Theo.  Whittlinger,  located  at  present  in 
Tonawanda,  N.  Y. ,  from  1897  to  1900  and  the  present  pastor,  Rev. 
John  J.  Lehmann  was  appointed  to  the  charge  July  1,  1900. 

During  the  ministration  of  Rev.  Wm.  T.  Strobel,  who  was  pastor 
from  March  12,  1859  to  May  18,  1863,  the  church  edifice  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  present  congregation,  the  right  to  transfer  same 
having  been  given  by  decree  of  the  County  Court,  Sept.  16  1861. 
Dec.  2,  1861,  a  deed  of  the  church  property  was  given  by  John  Shutt 
George  Zerfass,  Benjamin  Kidd,  James  Kiehle  and  R.  Steffy,  a 
majority  of  the  trustees  of  the  two  congregations  aforementioned  to 
William  Schwendler,  John  C.  Engert,  and  Jacob  Schwingle  trustees 
of  this  church,  for  the  almost  nominal  sum  of  $800. 

A  few  years  after  the  dedication  of  the  church,  a  fine  pipe-organ 
was  placed  in  it.     As  it  was  the  first  of  its  kind  ever  brought  to 


CHURCHES 


37 


Dansville,  it  was  an  object  of  curiosity  and  admiration.  There  was 
then  no  regular  oroanist  in  the  village,  and  an  accomplished  per- 
former named  Snyder,  residing  at  Avon,  was  hired  to  take  charge  of 
it  on  the  Sabbath.  He  traveled  from  his  place  of  residence  to  Dans- 
ville every  week  for  a  long  time.  When  Mr.  Selmser  resigned  his 
pastorate,  he  purchased  the  organ,  which  had  become  an  object  of 
contention  in  the  troubles  which  beset  the  church,  and  removed  it  to 
Lockport. 

In  1876,  the  church  underwent  extensive  repairs.  It  was  re-dedi- 
cated August  6,  1876,  service  being  conducted  in  both  German  and 
English,  the  former  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  Paul  L.  Menzel,  and  the  lat- 
ter by  the  Rev.  P.  A.  Strobel. 

The  church  severed  its  connection  with  the  United  German  Evan- 
gelical Synod  of  North  America  in  the  year  1900  and  now  stands 
independent. 

The  new  church  book  has  been  introduced  and  the  list  of  contribut- 
ing members  greatly  increased.      The  ladies  society  is  rapidly  gaining 

in  membership  which  now  num- 
bers thirty-eight  with  the  follow- 
ing oiificers:  President,  Mrs.  Con- 
rad Kramer;  Vice-President,  Miss 
Rose  vSchwendler ;  Secretary,  Mrs. 
P.  J.  Hoffman;  Treasurer,  Mrs. 
Eliza  Eversold.  The  following 
officers  now  have  charge  of  the 
executive  affairs  of  the  church: 
President,  John  J.  Lehmann;  Sec- 
retary, E.  C.  Schwingle;  Treas- 
urer, Wm.  Kramer;  Collector, 
Frank  Mehlenbacher ;  Trustees, 
Fritz  Kramer,  Wm.  vSchwendler, 
John  Schwingle,  Ernest  Weber, 
Robert  Laven,  Phillip  Cierling. 
Rev.  John  J.  Lehman 
Born  at  Buffalo,  N.Y.  Early 
education  received  at  St.  John's 
Orphan  Home  at  Buffalo.  Finish- 
ed courses  at  Wagner's  Memorial 
College,  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  Mt.  Airy  Theological  Seminary  of 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  Passed  the  examination  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Ministerium  of  New  York  State.  Appointed  to  charge  in  Dansville 
July  1,  1900,  while  yet  a  student. 

During  the  short  time  Mr.  Lehmann  has  been  in  charge  of  this 
congregation,  much  good  has  been  accomplished  and  the  church 
strengthened. 


REV.  JOHN  J.  LEHMAN 


38 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


THe  MetHodist  Episcopal  CHurcK 

Unfortunately  the  early  records  of  this  church  have  not  been  pre- 
served, but  from  reliable  sources  the  most  important  things  connected 
with  it  have  been  secured. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Methodists  first  settled  in  Dansville,  not 
later  than  1811.  The  first  preaching  by  one  of  their  ministers  was 
done  by  Robert  Parker  at  intervals  during  the  years  1812,  '13,  and 
'14.  It  is  probable  that  others  continued  these  occasional  ministries 
until  the  year  1819  when  the  Annual  Conference  formed  the  Dansville 
Circuit.     This  circuit  had  twenty-four  preaching  places  and  extended 


METHODIST   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


from  East  Sparta  to  five  miles  below  Bath.  The  first  preachers  ap- 
pointed were  Micah  Seager  as  Senior  Traveling  Preacher,  with 
Chester  V.  Adgate  as  the  Junior.  They  were  required  to  "preach 
twice  each  Sunday,  and  every  night  in  the  week.  Mr.  Adgate  con- 
tinued on  the  circuit  two  years  and  was  followed  in  1821  by  James 
Gilmore  and  later  by  Andrew  Prindle.  The  first  Quarterly  Meeting 
is  said  to  have  been  held  in  1825. 

At  the  Conference  of  1828,  Robert  Parker  was  appointed  to  this  cir- 
cuit and  began  at  once  to  secure  funds  with  which  to  erect  a  church. 


CHURCHES  V) 

About  $800  was  subscribed,  and  the  work  of  building  was  com- 
menced. The  church  was  erected  on  the  Public  Square  a  short  dis- 
tance south  of  the  present  location  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  It 
was  dedicated  in  1829  by  Wilber  Hoag,  at  that  time  pastor  at  Perry 
and  LeRoy.  The  church  remained  on  this  site  until  the  present 
structure  was  erected  on  Chestnut  street.  The  society  was  incor- 
porated about  this  time. 

Jn  1831,  William  D.  Buck  and  Thomas  Carlton  were  appointed  to 
the  Circuit.  At  this  time  the  circuit  embraced  the  following  towns: 
viz.,  Dansville,  Sparta,  Groveland,  Springwater,  Conesus  and  some 
parts  of  Naples  and  Livonia.     There  were  fifteen  preaching  places. 

A  full  list  of  preachers  since  1849  is  as  follows:  1849-1850,  John  T. 
Raines;  1851,  David  Ferris;  1852,  James  Tuttle;  1853,  C.  S.  Baker 
1854-1855,  K.  P.  Jervis;  1856,  John  Mandeville;  1857-1858,  J.  J 
Brown;  1859,  William  Holt;  1860,  Chas  S.  Fox;  1861-1862,  Isaac 
Gibbard;  1863,  C.  M.  Gardner;  1864,  J.  S.  Bell;  1865,  E.  Wood 
1866-1867,  R.  D.  Hunger;  1868-1870,  H.  Van  Benschoten;  1871-1872 
D.  Leisenring;  1873,  J.  Landreth ;  1874,  T.  J.  <).  Wooden;  1875-1877 
Geo.  W.  Coe;  1878-1879,  J.  T.  Gracey;  1880,  James  Hill;  1881-1882 
T.  H.  Youngman,  1883-1885;  Wm.  C.  Wilbor,  1886-1890;  Geo.  W 
Peck;  1891,  J.  T.  Canfield ;  1892-1896,  A.  ().  Sykes;  1,S')7-1900,  F.  J 
Chase;  1901,  Irving  B.  Bristol. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Geo.  W.  Coe,  in  1876  the  splendid  brick 
church  on  Chestnut  Avenue  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $18,000,  of  which 
amount  $8,000  was  unprovided.  The  debt  had  been  decreased  until 
in  1884  it  amounted  to  $5,500.  W.  C.  Wilbor  was  pastor  at  this  time 
and  instituted  a  vigorous  canvass  for  funds  to  pay  off  the  incumb- 
rances. A  debt-paying  Jubilee  was  held  December  31.  1884,  when 
the  mortgages  were  burned  in  public.  The  parsonage  now  owned 
by  the  church,  situated  on  the  same  street  as  the  church,  was  purchased 
during  the  present  pastorate  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  dollars. 

During  the  pastorate  of  F.  J.  Chase,  the  church  interior  was 
thoroughly  renovated.  Some  partitions  were  changed  and  all  the 
walls  handsomely  decorated.  New  carpets  and  a  new  piano  were 
purchased.  Recently  a  steam  heating  apparatus  has  been  placed  in 
the  church  which,  with  the  other  improvements,  makes  this  one  of 
the  best  equipped  plants  for  modern  church  work,  in  a  village  the  size 
of  Dansville,  that  can  be  found  in  this  section.  The  tall  spire  can  be 
seen  for  several  miles.  The  ground  floor  is  devoted  to  the  Prayer 
Meetings,  Sunday  School,  Societies,  etc.  Besides  the  lecture  room, 
there  are  kitchen,  dining  room,  class  rooms  and  pastor's  office.  The 
audience  room  is  on  the  second  floor  and  has  a  seating  capacity  of 
six  hundred. 

The  present  membership  is  about  250.  There  are  221  scholars  en- 
rolled in  the  Sunday  School.  The  Epworth  League  has  a  member- 
ship of  sixty-five,  and  the  Junior  League  seventy-four. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  is  composed  of  the  following:  C.  F.  Snyder, 
G.  S.  Wilson,  M.  T.  Walker,  P.  W.  Byer,  D.  E.  Rau,  J.  W.  Burgess, 
A.  L.  Harter,   C.  A.  Artman,  and  C.  M.  Kiehle. 

The  following  compose  the  Stewards:  G.  S.  Wilson,  F.  L. 'Ripley, 
J.  L.  Wellington,  C.  F.  Snyder,  A.  E.  Thurston,  J.  W.  Burgess,  C. 
A,  Artman,  C.  M,  Kiehle,  E.  B.  Cridler,  D.  E.  Rau,  Robert  Gamble, 


40 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


P.  W.  Kershner,  and  H.  K.  Thompson.  C.  F.  Snyder  is  Financial 
Secretary. 

The  following  are  presidents  of  the  various  societies:  R.  L. 
Gamble,  Brotherhood  of  St.  Paul;  Bertha  O.  Hancock,  Epworth . 
League;  Mrs.  Thos.  Manion,  Junior  League;  Miss  Jennie  Illick, 
Ladies' Aid  Socety;  Miss  Sarah  VanAllen,  Women's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society;  Mrs.  Wm.  J.  Brown,  Women's  Home  Missionary 
Society. 

John  L.  Wellington  is  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School,  and 
Miss  Alice  Brettle  is  Superintend- 
ent of  the  Primary  Department. 
Fred  L.  Ripley  and  James  H. 
Edwards  are  Class  Leaders.  Irv- 
ing B.  Bristol  is  Preacher-in-Charge 
and  A.  L.  McNair  is  Local 
Preacher. 

Mr.  Bristol  assumed  his  pres- 
ent duties  in  October,  1901,  his 
predecessor.  Rev.  F.  J.  Chase,  re- 
moving to  Lancaster,  N.  Y. 
The  efficient  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Bristol  has  commenced  his  pas- 
torate bespeaks  continued  prosper- 
ity for  the  church. 

Rev.  Irving  B.  Bristol 

Born  at  Berkshire,  N.  Y.,  August 
10,  1866.  Moved  to  Castle  Creek, 
and  from  thence  to  Binghamton, 
and  educated  in  the  schools  of  the 
latter  city.  From  1883  to  1889  he 
engaged  in  Y.  M.   C.    A.    work   at 

Binghamton,  Albany, Olean, and  Tonawanda.  Began  work  in  the  minis- 
try in  1889,  at  West  Webster,  N.  Y.  Other  charges  are  as  follows: 
Conesus,  Springwater,  Canadice,  Wayland,  Rochester,  and  Dansville. 
His  family  consists  of  a  wife  and  three  children. 

Revivals  have  characterized  each  appointment  and  each  church  has 
increased  under  his  ministry. 


REV.  IRVING    E.   BRISTOL 


v{S   ^ 


THe  Presbyterian  CHtircK 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Dansville  was  organized  March  25, 
1825,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Bath.  The  charter  members  were  eleven 
in  number,  and  Rev.  Robert  Hubbard  was  stated   supply   until  1834. 

In  June  1826,  the  church  was  transferred  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Bath  to  the  Presbytery  of  Ontario,  the  society  worshipped  in  an  old 
school  house  on  the  west  side  of  Main  street,  south  of  the  Dansville 
House,  now  Hotel  Livingston.  Sometime  after,  the  Presbyterians 
moved  into  a  new  schoolhouse  where  the  Episcopal  church  now 
stands. 


CH('RC//J'.S 


41 


In  1831  a  church  was  built  on  the  site  where  the  post-office  is  located, 
at  the  cost  of  $3,500.  Rev.  Elam  H.  Weller  succeeded  Mr.  Hubbard 
and  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  in  September,  1834.  Early  in 
1840  an  important  division  took  place,  and  a  new  church  was  estab- 
lished. There  were  fifty-six  members  who  remained  at  the  old  church, 
and  sixty-six  formed  the  new  one  and  worshipped  in  an  upper  room 
in  the  Stevens  Block  and  was  called  "The  Brick  Church." 

In  1842,  at  the  cost  of  $4,000,  a  new  edifice  was  erected  and  occu- 
pied until  a  reunion  of  the  two  societies  was  effected,  in  January,  1861. 
This  organization  is  now  correctly  known  as  "The  Presbyterian  Free 


PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH 


Church  and  Society  of  Dansville. "  From  that  time  until  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Jessup  became  pastor,  the  church  was  supplied  by  the  following 
ministers:  Rev.  J.  N.  Hubbard,  six  months;  Rev.  D.  N.  Merrit, 
pastor  from  1842  to  1844;  Rev.  Joel  Wakeman  was  next  supply  for 
only  a  few  months;  Rev.  W.  F.  Curry  pastor  until  March,  1849;  Rev. 
C.  L.  Hequembough  pastor  from  1849  to  1853;  Rev.  J.  N.  Hubbard 
again  supplied  and  labored  for  four  years ;  Rev.  S.  M.  Campbell  was 
next  supply  for  one  brief  year;  when  Rev.  Dr.  Seager,  principal  of 
the  Dansville  Seminary,  supplied  the  pulpit  until  the  winter  of  1859. 


42  ORGANlZA  flON$ 

Rev.  Mr.  Ford  followed  for  a  short  period,  when  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Jessup.  now  the  honored  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Oneida, 
N.  Y.,  was  installed  pastor  in  1861,  and  a  ministry  of  seventeen  years 
of  harmony  and  effective  work  followed.  In  1864  the  chapel  was  built, 
and  the  church  edifice  was  enlarged  in  1867,  at  cost  of  $3,000.  After 
Mr.  Jessup's  resignation  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  Rev.  Geo.  K. 
Ward,  Rev.  Dr.  John  Jones,  and  Rev.  John  H.  Brodt.  Rev.  Charles 
Ray  was  also  an  acceptable  supply. 

The  first  Sabbath  of  May  1873,  Rev.  Geo.  K.  Ward  entered  upon  his 
pastorate,  which  continued  for  twenty-five  years.  Mr.  Ward  was  or- 
dained  and   installed   June  4  of  that  year. 

In  1876  the  church  was  repaired  at  a  cost  of  $2,000,  and  in  1878  the 
chapel  was  enlarged  and  connected  with  the  main  church  building  at 
the  cost  of  another  $2,000. 

In  the  dozen  years  that  now  followed,  there  sprang  up  a  strong  desire 
for  a  more  modern  edifice;  the  old  building  was  demanding  a  new ; 
the  people  felt  the  need  of  something  more  convenient.  Councils  were 
held,  the  commitees  were  appointed,  and  in  many  ways  the  matter 
was  agitated.  At  last  the  time  came  for  the  last  service  in  the  old 
church — Sabbath  evening,  April  9,  1891,  the  farewell  meeting  was 
held.  It  was  a  service  to  which  all  of  the  churches  of  the  town  were 
invited,  at  which  Mr.  A.  O.  Bunnell  presided.  The  historical  sketch 
was  read  by  elder  D.  D.  McNair,  and  the  different  organizations  of 
the  church  were  represented  and  gave  reports. 

Several  pastors  of  the  other  churches  made  remarks  together  with 
an  address  by  the  pastor  of  the  church,  who  fittingly  brought  the  im- 
pressive service  to  a  close.  While  the  new  church  was  being  erected, 
the  congregation  worshiped  in  the  hall  now  known  as  Dyers'  Hall. 
Upon  the  13th  of  June  of  the  same  year,  there  gathered  a  large 
assembly  upon  the  Park  to  lay  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  church, 
and  upon  the  ISth  of  March,  1892,  the  dedicatory  services  were  held 
in  the  new  and  beautiful  edifice.  The  Rev.  H.  C.  Riggs,D.  D.,  of 
Rochester,  delivered  an  eloquent  sermon,  and  the  pastor  Rev.  Geo.  K. 
Ward  read  a  special  dedicatory  service.  Dr.  F.  M.  Ferine  in  an  ap- 
propriate address  handed  over  the  keys  of  the  new  building  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees  on  behalf  of  the  building  committee,  and  Mr.  F.  H. 
Dyer  responded  as  president  of  the  Board. 

The  interior  of  the  church  is  arranged  in  ampitheatre  form  with  a 
seating  capacity  of  600.  The  wood  work  is  finished  in  natural  oak, 
and  the  blending  of  colors  in  the  entire  auditorium  is  most  pleasing. 

The  memorial  windows  in  memory  of  members  of  the  church  who 
had  joined  the  Church  above,  and  those  windows  put  in  by  the  mis- 
sionary societies,  make  up  a  beautiful  effect. 

The  entire  expense  of  rebuilding  and  refurnishing  the  church 
amounted  to  about  $18,000.  After  a  pastorate  of  twenty-five  years. 
Rev.  Geo.  K.  Ward  offered  his  resignation  and  preached  his  farewell 
sermon  the  last  Sabbath  of  May  1898. 

The  first  Sabbath  of  March,  1899,  the  present  pastor  of  the  church. 
Rev.  Charles  M.  Herrick,  met  his  people  for  the  first  time,  and  was 
installed  formally  the  28th  of  April,  1899.  During  the  next  two  years 
a  debt  hanging  over  the  chruch  was  removed  and  many  repairs  and 
improvements  made. 


CHURCHES 


43 


The  efficient  board  of  elders  and  trustees  serve  the  church  well, 
and  the  several  departments  of  the  church  are  all  flourishing. 

The  Pastor's  Aid  Society  is  a  most  helpful  means  in  enabling  the 
church  to  do  its  largest  work,  and  the  missionary  societies  are  doing 
a  noble  work  in  both  home  and  foreign  fields.  These  together  with 
the  Sabbath  School,  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor, 
and  the  Young  People's  Missionary  Society,  go  to  make  up  an  ag- 
gressive church.  In  the  direct  church  benevolences,  there  are  eight 
Boards  that  are  contributed  to;  also  the  American  Bible  and  Tract 
Societies.  The  church  at  the  present  time  has  a  membership  of 
nearly  400,  making  it  one  of  the  strongest  churches  in  Rochester 
Presbytery. 

The  present  elders  are   Geo.   W.  DeLong,  James  McCurdy,  Frank 
Fielder,  Oscar  Woodruff,  Charles  Nichols,  Robert  Ross,  C.  W.  Denton. 
The  present  board  of  trustees  consists   of  James  M.  Edwards,  Pres- 
ident; H.  W.  DeLong,  Clerk;  J.  J.  Bailey,  Dr.  F.  M.  Ferine,  F.    W. 
Noyes,  H.  F.  Dyer. 

Bayard  Knapp  is  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School,  and  Mrs.  C. 
F.  McNair  holds  that  office  inthe  Primary  Department.  The  President 
of  the  Pastor's  Aid  Society,  is  Mrs.  Helen  Noyes  Baker;  Woman's  For- 
eign Missionary  Society,  is  Mrs.  W. 
J.  Beecher;  Ward  Home  Missionary 
Society,  is  Mrs.  H.  F.  Fairchild;  Y. 
P.  S.  C.  E.  is  Miss  Bessie  Knapp; 
and  of  the  Young  People's  Mission- 
ary Society,  Miss  Abby  Gray. 

The  choir  consists  of  Miss  Celestia 
Schubmehl,  organist;  Mr.  Willard 
Morris,  leader  and  violinist,  together 
with  a  chorus  of  mixed  voices. 

During  the  present  pastorate 
$1,500  has  a  been  raised  for  old  debts 
and  repairs,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
have  been  added  to  the  church  mem- 
bership; and  a  "Committee  of  One 
Hundred"  has  been  organized  for 
personal  work  in  the  spiritual  life. 
Rev.  Charles  Mynderse  Herrick 
Born  in  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  1866. 
Educated  in  Syracuse  city  schools 
and  University.  A  member  of  Syra- 
cuse University,  class  of  1892,  and  of  the  Phi  Kappa  Psi  fraternity. 
Graduated  from  Auburn  Theological  Seminary  in  1894.  First  charge 
at  Hobart,  N.  Y.  Installed  at  Dansville  April  28,  1899.  Family 
consists  of  a  wife  and  two  children.  Mr.  Herrick  is  a  man  of  force  and 
ability,  whose  earnestness  of  purpose  and  talented  efforts  in  minister- 
ing to  a  large  congregation,  have  cemented  the  interests  of  this  church 
and  advanced  its  general  prosperity.  The  whole  village  has  felt  the 
impress  of  his  spiritual  influence. 


REV.  CHAS.  M.  HERRICK 


44 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


St.  Peter's  CKurcK,  Protestant  Episcopal 

The  parish  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Dansville,  was  organized  April  13, 
1831.  At  the  meeting  of  organizing,  the  Rev.  William  W.  Bostwick, 
"missionary  of  Bath,  Steuben  Co.,  and  parts  adjacent,"  presided, 
and  the  following  gentlemen  were  elected  wardens  and  vestrymen: 
—Wardens,  William  Welch,  Amos  Bradley;  Vestrymen,  Justus  Hall, 
James  Smith,  Sedley  Sill,  Benj.  C.  Cook,  Alonzo  Bradner,  George 
Hyland,  David  Mitchell,  Horatio  C.  Taggart. 


ST.    PETER'S    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 


It  was,  however,  several  years  before  a  resident  clergyman  was 
secured,  and  divine  service  regularly  celebrated  every  Sunday  For 
some  twelve  years  the  parish  was  either  associated  with  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Angelica,  the  rector  of  which  was  at  that  time  the  Rev. 
Lewis  Thibon,  or  left  with  only  occasional  missionary  services.  But 
in  1842,  several  active  young  churchmen  having  removed  to  the  grow- 
ing village,  vigorous  measures  were  adopted  to  place  the  parish  on  a 
more  permanent  basis.  At  a  special  parish  meeting  held  on  the  14th 
of  November,  in  that  year,  the  following  officers  were  elected  to  serve 
until  the  ensuing  Easter:  Wardens,  Benjamin  Bradley,  William 
Welch;  Vestrymen,  John  C.  Williams,  Ralph  T.  Wood,  Edward 
O'Brien,  Isaac  L.  Endress,  John  A.  VanDerlip,  Lauren  C.  Woodruff, 
Peter  S.  Lema,  Geo.  G.  Wood.  Lauren  C.  Woodruff  was  elected 
treasurer,  and  John  A.  Vanderlip  clerk  of  the  Vestry,  an  office  con- 
tinuously held  by  him  from  that  date  till  the  time  of  his  death. 

In  April  of  the  following  year,  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  F.  Bruce,  M.  D., 
who  had  of  late  officiated  occasionally  in  the  parish,  in  connection 
with  St.  Paul's,  Angelica,  was  elected  rector  and  removed  to  Dans- 
ville.    Measures  for  the  erection  of  a  new  church  edifice  were  about 


CHURCHJiS  45 

this  time  adopted,  and  with  L.  C.  Woodruff,  Benj.  Bradley,  and  Isaac 
L.  Endress,  for  a  building  committee,  the  work  was  vigorously 
prosecuted. 

In  the  autumn  of  1846,  the  present  neat  church  edifice  of  wood  was 
completed,  at  a  cost  of  some  $3,000,  and  on  the  2Sth  of  May,  1847, 
was  consecrated  by  Bishop  DeLancey. 

Down  to  1846  the  congregation  had  worshipped  in  "The  School 
House  on  the  Square, "  a  building  now  venerable  for  use  and  years, 
that  once  stood  on  the  north  west  corner  of  the  public  park,  but  was 
moved  to  its  present  site,  to  give  place  to  St.  Peter's  church. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  1846,  about  the  time  the  new  church  was  com- 
pleted, the  Rev.  Mr.  Bruce  resigned  the  care  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  Payton  Gallagher.  In  the  summer  of  1848,  Mr.  Gallagher, 
in  consequence  of  failing  health,  was  granted  a  leave  of  absence  by  the 
vestry  and  the  Rev.  T.  F.  Wardwell  engaged  as  a  supply.  The 
following  December  Mr.  Wardwell  accepted  an  election  to  the  care  of 
Grace  Church,  Lyons,  and  the  services  of  the  Rev.  O.  F.  Starkey  were 
temporarily  secured.  In  the  spring  of  1849  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gallagher's 
resignation  was  accepted,  and  in  July  following,  the  Rev.  O.  R. 
Howard  was  elected  rector.  The  rectorate  of  Rev.  Dr.  Howard  con- 
tinued until  1857,  and  covers  the  era  of  greatest  prosperity  both  of  the 
parish  and  the  village. 

Since  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Howard  and  his  removal  tci  Bath,  the 
following  clergymen  have  successively  had  ministerial  charge  of  the 
parish:  The  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Meachem,  the  Rev.  \'  Spalding, 
the  Rev.  J.  C.  L.  Jones,  the  Rev.  Robert  C.  Wall,  the  Rev.  L.  D. 
Ferguson,  the  Rev.  L.  H.  Strieker,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Hunter  and  the 
Rev.    James  B.   Murray,  D.  D. 

In  spite  of  the  successive,  and  sometimes  not  desirable  changes,  the 
parish  has  grown  from  both  numerical  and  financial  weakness,  to  its 
present  condition  of  comparative  strength,  including  as  it  does  some 
sixty  families  and  about  one  hundred  communicants. 

The  Rev.  Abner  Piatt  Brush  began  his  rectorate  in  1878  and  con- 
tinued until  the  spring  of  1883,  when  he  removed  to  St.  Thomas 
Parish  at  Bath,  N.  Y.,  where  he  resided  until  his  death  which  oc- 
curred the  8th  of  October,  1889. 

Rev.  Joseph  H.  Young  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
the  successor  of  Rev.  Brush  about  the  25th  of  March  1883,  and  was 
rector  until  Sunday,  June  22,  1884,  when  he  left  his  charge,  giving  the 
vestry  only  a  few  hours  notice  of  the  contemplated  change.  From 
this  time  until  June  1887,  the  parish  remained  without  a  settled 
rector. 

During  the  summer  of  1884  Rev.  Hale  Townsend,  a  patient  at  the 
Sanatorium,  ministered  to  the  congregation  and  remained  in  the 
capacity  until  June  1886,  when,  his  health  being  restored,  he  removed 
to  California,  leaving  the  church  without  debt. 

In  May  1887  the  Rev.  .Wm.  Page  Case,  then  rector  at  Scranton, 
Pa.,  who  had  formerly  sojourned  at  the  Sanatorium,  anxious  for  his 
wife's  restoration  to  health,  accepted  a  call  to  Dansville  and  remained 
until  September,  1888. 

From  this  time  until  June  15,  1890,  the  parish  was  without  a 
rector.     Rev.  R.    M.    Sherman   next   filling  this  office.     During  the 


46 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


time  intervening  between  the  two  last  rectorships,  the  Rev.  E.  A. 
Martin, a  postulant  for  orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  ministered  oc- 
casionally to  the  people  of  this  church. 

The  Rev.  R.  M.  Sherman,  Jr.,  closed  his  rectorship  on  Monday, 
Nov.  28,  1892,  and  was  not  succeeded  until  April  17,  1894,  when  the 
Rev.  James  P.  Foster  began  his  rectorship,  closing  the  same  in  May, 
1895.  The  following  month  Rev.  Alexander  N.  Bostwick  received 
his  appointment  and  remained  until  January,  1897.  Rev.  Henry  M. 
Kirkby  was  minister  in  charge  until  October,  1899. 

Rev.  John  Leach  Porter  became  rector  of  this  parish  Feb.  24,  1900, 
and  remained  until  the  spring  of  1902,  being  succeeded  by  the  present 
rector,  Rev.  Stephen  Howard  Ailing  who  was  called  to  this  charge 
May  25,  1902. 

The  present  official  board  con- 
sists of:  wardens,  F.  J.  Nelson, 
(clerk)  and  James  Lindsay ;  ves- 
trymen: C.  A.  Snyder  (clerk)  F. 
M.  Hartman,  Gardner  Sutfin, 
James  Kennedy,  C.  H.  Rowe,  J. 
B.  Morey,  Sr. ,  and  James  Mc- 
Curdy. 
/Jeu.  Stephen  Howard.  JUling 
Born  in  New  York  City  January 
11,  1870,  removed  to  London, 
England  in  1872,  and  in  1877  to 
the  Isle  of  Wight.  Student  at 
the  Lycee,  St.  Omer,  France, 
during  1879  and  1880.  La  1881 
removed  to  Rochester,  N.  Y. , 
and  during  the  year  1882  to  Suf- 
field.  Conn.,  graduating  from  the 
Connecticut  Literary  Institution 
at  that  place  in  1887.  Received 
degree  of  A.  M.  at  Hartford 
Trinity  College  in  1892,  and  in 
1895  was  graduated  from  the 
Berkeley  Trinity  College.  Ordained  deacon  the  same  year  and  took 
charge  of  Missions  near  St.  Johnsburg,  Vt.  Appointed  rector  at 
Lyndonville  in  1896,  and  erected  new  church  edifice.  His  next 
charge  was  at  East  Berlin,  Conn.,  where  he  was  appointed  in  1901. 
May  25,  1902,  he  accepted  a  call  to  Dansville,  and  as  rector  of  St. 
Peter's  parish  is  making  manifest  his  ability  and  earnestness  in  his 
chosen  work.      His  family  consists  of  a  wife  and  one  child. 


REV.   STEVEN   HOWARD   ALLING 


ClIURCHES 


47 


tSt.  Paul's  £n^lisl\  LvitHeran  CHurcK 

About  1835,  the  records  tell  us,  the  Germans  of  the  joint  church 
preferring  preaching  in  their  native  tongue,  a  separation  was  effected, 
resulting  in  the  formation  of  St.  Paul's  English  Lutheran  Church. 

Rev.  I^.  Sternberg  was  the  first  pastor  to  have  charge  of  this  con- 
gregation and  served  them  faithfully  from  December  1839  to  1845, 
being  succeeded  on  June  30  of  that  year  by  Rev.  John  Selmser. 
This  energetic  pastor,  through  the  determination  of  the  congregation, 
built  the  present  church  edifice  on  the  public  square.  The  dedication 
ceremonies  taking  place  on  December  25,  1847.  It  is  a  frame  build- 
ing sixty  by  forty  and  capable  of  seating  about  400  people. 


ST.   PAUL'S    ENGLISH   LUTHERAN   CHURCH 


Prominent  among  the  first  members  and  officers  of  that  time  were, 
John  Haas,  Sr. ,  John  Haas,  Jr.,  William  Weldy,  John  Hartman,  Peter 
Acherer,  B.  Pickett,  John  Littles,  D.  Ingersoll,  S.  Jones,  Wm.  Haas, 
Elias  Geiger,  L  L.  Endress,  Edmund  Opp,  Dr.  S.  L.  Endress  and 
others.  The  first  officers  after  the  building  of  the  church  were  Daniel 
Ingersoll,  Trustee;  John  Kohler,  Elder;  George  C.  Drehener,  deacon; 
Sheperd  Jones,  clerk ;  and  John  Hass,  treasurer. 

Rev.  J.  Selmser  was  pastor  from  1845  to  1854,  being  succeeded  by 
Rev.  F.  W.  Brauns  who  remained  only  one  year.  Rev.  C.  H.  Hersch 
followed  the  Rev.  Brauns  and  was  pastor  two  years. 

Rev.  L.  L.  Bonnell  came  Sept.  1,  1858  and  died  during  May  1859, 
while  visiting  the  Rev.  P.  A.  Strobel  at  Lockport. 


48  ORGANIZA  TIONS 

Rev.  Dr.  SwQpe  then  took  charge  and  remained  for  four  years,  or 
until  1863.  The  Rev.  M.  J.  Stover  then  served  a  second  time,  for  one 
year,  in  1864.  Rev.  A.  Waldron  was  his  successor  and  resigning  on 
account  of  failing  health,  died  at  Breakabeen,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  28,  1874. 

Rev.  J.  Selmser  now  returned  for  a  second  year,  taking  his  de- 
parture in  1873.  He  lived  but  two  years  thereafter,  passing  away 
July  5,  1875  at  Richmondville  where  he  began  and  ended  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God.  Rev.  E.  H.  Martin  labored  in  Dansville  as  the  next 
pastor  of  this  church  for  one  year  and  nine  months,  when  he  resigned 
and  moved  West.  Rev.  P.  A.  Strobel  became  pastor  October  1875, 
and  died  in  Dansville  Nov.  26,  1882,  aged  seventy  years. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Strobel,  August  2,  1880,  the  church 
was  struck  by  lighting  and  a  serious  conflagration  was  prevented  by  the 
prompt  work  of  the  local  fire  department.  The  Rev.  Wm.  R. 
McCutcheon  was  called  to  this  charge  Oct.  15,  1882. 

In  the  summer  of  1884  a  new  roof  was  placed  on  the  chruch  and 
the  interior  decorated.  During  October,  1886,  the  Hartwick  Synod 
held  its  fifty-sixth  annual  convention  in  this  church.  January,  1887, 
the  Sunday  school  workers  were  organized.  The  common  service 
authorized  by  the  General  Synod  was  introduced  November  28,   1888. 

The  memorial  window  to  Reuben  Whiteman  was  dedicated  the 
Sunday  before  Christmas,  1888.  The  Woman's  Home  and  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  and  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  were  both  organized 
at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Jacob  Schwingle,  the  former  in  January,  1883, 
and  the  latter  in  March,  1890. 

On  June  1,  1890,  the  resignation  of  Rev.  W.  R.  McCutcheon  took 
effect  and  Rev.  W.  M.  Benson  was  called  soon  after,  beginning  his 
labors  September  1,  1890.  He  was  installed  October  2,  1890,  by  Rev. 
M.  J.  Strobel,  who  had  been  pastor  at  the  joint  church  fifty-six  years 
before. 

In  the  month  of  February  a  Society  of  King's  Daughter's  was 
formed  by  the  pastor's  wife,  Mrs.  W.  M.  Benson.  Wednesday  even- 
ing, April  27,  1892  the  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  was  organized  and  L.  K.  Mann 
appointed  to  conduct  the  first  prayer  meeting. 

A  committee  under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  Benson  raised  $3,000 
with  which  the  church  was  remodeled  and  beautified.  One  thousand 
dollars  was  also  provided  with  which  the  beautiful  pipe  organ  was 
purchased.  This  together  with  the  furnace  was  procured  largely 
through  the  earnest  work  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society.  A  most  re- 
markable feature  in  the  history  of  this  church  is  that  it  has  never 
been  in  debt  beyond  its  ability  to  immediately  provide. 

Rev.  Charles  G.  Bikle  was  installed  in  June  3,  1900,  Revs.  H.  J.  Wat- 
kins  of  Lockport,  N.  Y.,  and  N.  E.  Yeiser  of  India  officiating. 
During  his  pastorate  of  less  than  two  years  nearly  fifty  members  have 
been  added  and  other  marked  evidence  of  the  church's  progress 
manifested. 

The  7lst  annual  convention  of  the  Hartwick  Synod  of  New  York, 
was  held  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Sept.  25  to  29,  1901. 

The  following  constitutes  the  official  board  of  the  church :  Elders, 
J.  E.  Croll  and  M.  M.  Michael;  Deacons,  G.  E.  Deiter,  A.  W.  Hawk, 
R.  Vaihinger;  Tiaistees,  L.  Schwingle,  F.  W.  Miller,  D.  Sterner,  g! 
J.  Engert,  S.  Sterner;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  B.  A.  Zerfass. 


CHURCHES 


49 


During  the  year  1901,  by  the  will  of  Mrs.  Elias  Geiger,  a  faithful 
communicant  of  St.  Paul's,  the  church  became  the  holder  of  a  trust 
fund  of  $3,000,  and  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society,  by  the  same  will, 
became  the  donors  of  $500  to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Lutheran  Church. 

Improvements  during  Rev.  Bikle's  pastorate  have  been  the  pur- 
chase of  silver  individual  communion  service,  silver  offering  plates, 
an  upright  piano,  and  the  remodeling  of  the  front  interior  of  the 
church. 

The  church  auxiliaries  and  the  head  officer  of  each  are  as  follows: 
— Home  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Croll,  Pres.  ; 
Christian  Endeavor  Society,  R.  C.  Vaihinger,  Pres.  ;  Sunday  School, 
Garfield  Rau,  Supt.  ;  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  Mrs.  Wm.  Hartman,  Pres.  ; 
Loyal  Hearts  Circle  of  King's  Daughters,  Lillie  Weidman,  Pres.  ; 
Girls'  Friendly  Society,  Mrs.  Lester  Schwingle,  Pres. 

Rev.  W.  M.  Benson,  after  serving  continuously  for  ten  years, 
though  in  the  prime  of  life,  was  obliged  by  failing  health  to  retire 
from  the  ministry.  In  addition  to  the  many  improvements  to  church 
and  property,  Mr.  Benson  compiled  a  most  complete  history  of  this 
church  which  has  enabled  the  present  historian  to  present  this  sketch 
with  great  confidence  as  to  the  truthfulness  of  all  statements  made 
herein. 

Mr.  Benson  with  his  wife  and 
two  children  still  reside  in  Dans- 
ville  and  their  many  friends  look 
forward  with  pleasure  to  his  soon 
being  able  to  continue  his  life  work, 
to  which  he  has  proven  himself  so 
well  adapted. 

1i_ev.  Charles  George  Bikle 

Born  in  Smithsburg,  Md.,  and 
reared  in  Hagerstown,  Md.,  where 
he  attended  the  High  School.  Pre- 
pared at  Gettysburg  for  Pennsyl- 
vania College,  where  he  received 
the  degree  of  A.  B.,  in  1892.  In 
1895,  from  the  same  college,  the  de- 
gree of  A.  M.  was  conferred  upon 
him,  at  which  time  he  graduated 
from  Gettysburg  Theological  Semi- 
nary. 

First  charge  at  Spruce  Run  Luth- 
eran Church,  Glen  Gardner,  N.  J. 
Began  ministry  in  Dansville  in  April  1900. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Bikle,  in  a  little  more  than  two  years,  has  strongly 
endeared  himself  to  his  congregation,  and  being  a  man  of  many  re- 
sources and  strong  convictions,  has  become  a  most  valuable  citizen. 


REV.  C.  G.  BICKLE 


50 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


St.  Mary's  CatHolic  CHtircK 

German  Catholics  found  their  way  to  Dansville  as  early  as  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century,  and  it  has  been  asserted  that  a  Catho- 
lic was  among  the  very  first  settlers.  Later,  a  few  Irish  Catholics 
came  in  with  the  needy  surplus  population  which  Europe  poured  into 
this  country,  but  Catholicity  did  not  have  a  visible  existence  here  for 
more  than  a  generation  after  the  town  was  first  settled. 


ST.    MARY'S   GERMAN   CATHOLIC   CHURCH 


In  1836,  the  Catholic  families  residing  in  this  neighborhood  were 
visited  by  Rev.  Father  P.  Prost,  a  redemptorist  missionary  from 
Rochester,  and  a  German  by  birth,  who  was  afterwards  sent  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  Ireland.  He  gathered  the  few  Catholics  then  located  here 
in  divine  worship,  and  administered  the  holy  sacraments  of  the 
church.  He  was  followed  in  1837,  by  Father  Schackert.  Two  years 
later,  in  1839,  Rev.  Father  Sanderl  began  to  come  here  semi-annually. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Benedict  Bayer.  These  labors  were  con- 
tinued until  1844,  when  the  Catholics  purchased  the  schoolhouse  in 
the  west  part  of  the  village  and  converted  it  into  a  house  of  worship. 
From  that  period  they  were  visited  more  regularly  than  hitherto,  by 
Father  Bernick. 

The  church  occupied  the  schoolhouse  as  a  place  of  worship  but  a 
short  time,  for  in  1845  the  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  church  was 
laid  by  Father  Benedict  Bayer.  When  the  congregation  commenced 
t<j  worship  in  the  new  church,  the  old  schoolhouse  was  converted  into 
a  parochial  school  and  used  as  such  imtil  the  present  fine  school  build- 
ing was  erected  in  1876. 


CHURCHliS 


51 


Father  Bernick  was  succeeded  by  Fathers  P.  licjbzer,  P.  Tappert, 
Alexander  Cyait  Koviz,  A.  Jenkins  and  Andrew  M.  Schweiger,  re- 
demptorist  fathers,  the  latter  of  whom  was  the  first  resident  pastor, 
in  1849.  Rev.  Aloysius  Somoggi,  D.  D.,  succeeded  Father  Schweiger 
in  the  pastorate  as  early  as  1851,  and  continued  until  May,  1852.  In 
1852,  Father  John  M.  Steger  was  the  pastor.  Father  Somoggi  again 
served  them  until  January,  1854.  He  then  made  a  journey  to  Hun- 
gary, whence  he  came,  and  was  absent  eight  months,  during  which 
time  Father  John  M.  Steger  officiated.  On  his  return.  Father 
Somoggi  again  ministered  to  them  for  four  months,  till  January,  1855. 
Rev.  N.  Arnold,  D.  D.,  succeeded  Somoggi  and  remained  five 
months.  After  that  there  was  no  priest  until  October,  1S55,  when 
Father  Steger  again  became  the  pastor,  continuing  as  late  as  March, 
1857.  Revs.  John  N.  Koenig  and  Peter  Seibold  both  oiificiated  in  1857, 
Seibold  continuing  till  1859,  when  Rev.  J.  Rosswig  became  the  pastor. 
He  was  succeeded  in  1860  by  Rev.  F.  R.  Marshall;  in  1861,  by  Rev. 
Christopher  Wagner;  and  in  1862,  by  Rev.  Sergius  de  Stchoulepnikoff, 
a  Russian  priest,  who  finding  the  church  too  small  to  accomodate  the 
parishioners,  had  an  addition  built  to  it.  He  also  purchased  the  high 
altar   and  bell  during  his  short  pastorate  of  tvs^enty  months.      In  1864, 


ST.   MARY'S   SCHOOL 


52 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


Rev.  Joseph  Albinger  came  here  and  continued  his  ministrations  un- 
til 1875,  when  Rev.  Henry  Egler  assumed  the  pastorate.  He  was 
succeeded  July  13,  1879,  by  Rev.  Frederick  R.  Rauber. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Father  Egler,  in  1876,  the  present  parochial 
school  connected  with  this  church  was  erected.  It  was  formally 
opened  and  dedicated  on  the  5th  and  6th  of  June,  1876.  The  paro- 
chial school,  which  is  attended  by  about  150  pupils,  is  taught  by  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  of  Rochester,  four  in  number.  The  church 
edifice  is  a  wooden  building,  located  on  Franklin  Street,  in  the  west 
part  of  the  village.  The  present  number  of  members  is  about  800. 
The  church  property  is  valued  at  $15,000.  Father  Rauber  built  the 
present  convent  for  the  Sisters  in  1889  at  a  cost  exceeding  $2,500. 
During  his  pastorate  he  did  much  to  improve  the  financial  and 
spiritual  condition  of  the  parish. 

Rev.  Joseph  H.  Straten  succeeded  Father  Rauber  on  May  13,  1894. 
He  improved  the  church  property  by  installing  a  hot  water  system  in 
the  church  and  parochial  residence. 

Rev.  M.  Krischel  the  present  pastor  came  to  Dansville,  July  3, 
1899. 

During  the  summer  of  1900  the  schoolhouse  was  enlarged,  placing 
all  the  class  rooms  on  the  first  floor,  thus  providing  a  large  hall  to  be 
used  for  all  purposes.  The  present  attendance  at  the  school  is  135 
children.     The     Church     auxiliaries    are.   The  Christian   Mothers  of 

which  Mrs.  N.  J.  Huver  is  presi- 
dent, and  St.  Agnes  Society  pre- 
sided over  by  Miss  Adelaide 
Kramer.  The  trustees  are,  Fred 
J.  Michael  and  F.  M.  Schlick. 
Anthony  Kramer  is  Collector. 
Rev.  Michael  Krischel 
Born  Grosslittgen,  Germany. 
Studied  at  St.  Mary's  School, 
Buffalo,  Canisius  College  and 
Niagara  University.  Ordained 
to  the  priesthood  May  27,  1890. 
In  charge  of  Missions  at  Lancas- 
ter, N.  Y.,  Boston,  N.  Y.,  Cohoc- 
ton,  N.  Y.,  and  Dansville  since 
July,  3,  1897. 

Naturally  possessed  of  the  firm- 
ness of  purpose  and  breadth  of  in- 
tellect which  are  characteristic  of 
so  many  of  his  native  country- 
men, Father  Krischel  has  added 
to  these  inherited  advantages,  a  kindly,  unassuming  manner  as  well 
as  a  pleasing  address  and  made  himself  beloved  by  all  who  have  come 
within  the  sphere  of  his  influence. 


REV.  M.  KRISCHEL 


CHURCHES 


53 


St.  Patrick's  CatKolic  CHxircK 

The  history  of  this,  so  says  our  informant,  dates  from  twenty 
years  after  the  settlement  of  the  town  of  Dansville.  The  first  priests 
wlio  visited  this  locality  ministered  alike  to  the  German  and  Irish 
Catholics.  The  first  Irish  priest  who  found  his  way  hither,  of  whom 
there  is  any  record,  was  Rev.  Bernard  O'Reilly,  but  when  he  came, 
how  frequently  he  visited  Dansville,  and  how  long  he  continued  to  do 
so,  is  a  matter  of  uncertainty.  From  the  time  of  Father  O'Reilly, 
priests  visited  Dansville  at  regular  intervals,  and  the  number  of 
Catholics  increased  to  such  a  degree  that  larger  accomodations  were 
needed,  and  under  Father  O'Connor,  the  successor  of  Father  O'Reilly, 
the  people  assembled  at  the  town  hall  to  assist  at  mass. 


ST.   PATRICK'S   IRISH   CATHOLIC   CHURCH 


In  1847  the  western  portion  of  this  State  was  formed  into  a  diocese 
by  the  late  lamented  pontiff,  Pius  the  Ninth.  Buffalo  was  made  the 
episcopal  seat  and  Rt.  Rev.  John  Timon  was  the  first  bishop.  With- 
in a  couple  of  decades  of  years  dating  from  the  first  appearance  of 
permanent  Catholicity  in  Dansville,  the  number  of  Catholics  had  in- 
creased to  such  an  extent  as  to  warrant  Bishop  Timon  in  sending 
them  a  priest  to  reside  among  them.  All  the  historical  records 
agree  as  to  the  name  of  the  first  resident  pastor,  but  none  gives  the 
date  of  his  arrival.  His  name  was  Rev.  Edward  O'Flaherty,  and  it 
was  under  his  administration  that  the  foundation  of  St.  Patrick's 
church  was  laid,   at  the  head  of  the  public  square,  where  the  church 


54 


ORGAN IZ A  TIONS 


now  stands,  at  the  corner  of  Liberty  and  Church  streets.  Sonie  tra- 
ditions which  seem  sufficiently  reliable  mention  the  names  of  Father 
McEvoy  and  Father  Carroll,  who  paid  occasional  visits  from  Roches- 
ter to  the  Catholics  in  Dansville,  but  beyond  the  fact  of  their  visitmg 
as  missionaries  little  seems  to  be  known.  Before  the  erection  of  any- 
church  in  Dansville,  the  town  hall— the  property  of  Charles  Shepard 
—was  used  as  the  place  of  divine  worship.  Father  O'Flaherty  min- 
istered to  the  wants  of  the  German,  as  well  as  the  Irish  Nationality,  and 
according  to  one  account,  in  the  year  1849,  according  to  another  m 
the  year  1850,  laid  the  foundation  of  St.  Patrick's  church.  Ihe 
church  structure,  which  was  completed  in  1851,  at  a  cost  of  |1>500, 
was  about  half  its  present  size.  Father  O'Flaherty  was  succeeded 
immediately  by  Rev.  Charles  Tierney,  and  one  account  gives  him 
the  credit  of  having  completed  the  church,  the  foundation  merely 
being  laid  by  Rev.  Father  O'Flaherty. 


ST.  PATRICK'S   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL  AND   CONVENT 


We  find  Father  Tierney  recording  a  baptism  in  the  church  register 
as  late  as  May  1852,  and  Rev.  John  Donnelly  recording  his  advent 
in  June  of  the  same  year.  Father  Donnelly  remained  but  a  short 
time,  for  we  find  him  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  McKenna  on  the  1st 
of  May,  1853.'  Father  McKenna's  stay  was  of  even  shorter  duration 
than  that  of  Father  Donnelly,  for  his  autograph  does  not  appear  in 
the  church  registries  later  than  August  of  the  same  year  (1853).  He 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Aloysius  Somoggi,  who,  it  would  appear,  took 
charge  of  both  Catholic  churches,  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Patrick's,  dur- 
ing his  stay.  His  signature  appears  upon  the  records  for  the  first 
time  on  October  5,  1853,  and  the  last  baptism  recorded  by  him  was 
administered  in  December  of  the  same  year.     From   that  time  until 


CHURCH  US  55 

October,  1855,  we  find  the  names  of  Rev.  Terence  Kernan,  Rev.  Dan- 
iel Dolan  and  Rev.  Michael  Casey,  in  the  order  given. 

In  the  month  of  October,  1855,  Rev.  Michael  Steger  took  charge  of 
St.  Patrick's  congregation  as  well  as  St.  Mary's.  His  latest  signature 
is  that  of  December  2,  1860.  Rev.  M.  Steger  was  succeeded  im- 
mediately by  Rev.  J.  A.  Marshall,  who  remained  only  a  few  months, 
and  was  in  turn  succeeded  by  Rev.  Chrysostom  Wagner  in  June,  1861. 
His  stay  seems  to  cover  the  time  from  June,  1861,  to  April,  or  May, 
1862,  when  Rev.  Sergius  de  vStchloupnekoff,  a  Russian  by  birth  and  a 
Catholic  by  conversion,  assumed  the  pastoral  charge.  There  were 
few  among  the  many  priests  who  remained  in  Dansville  for  any  length 
of  time  who  made  such  a  lasting  impression  on  St.  Patrick's  congre- 
gation as  S.  de  Stchloupnekoff,  and  many  a  heartfelt  and  warm  trib- 
ute is  today  paid  to  his  zeal  and  energy.  His  name  disappears  from 
the  records  after  January,  1864,  when  Rev.  Joseph  Albinger  assumed 
the  pastorate.  Father  Albinger  took  charge  of  both  congregations 
from  his  arrival  until  the  Sth  of  July,  1871. 

Father  Biggins  labored  among  the  Irish  Catholics  of  Dansville  six 
years,  and  was  transferred  to  the  Catholic  church  at  Clyde,  in  August 
1877. 

The  same  year  marked  the  commencement  of  the  eventful  pastorate 
of  the  Rev.  S.  Fitz  Simons  who  labored  among  the  Irish  Catholics  of 
Dansville  for  six  years.  During  this  pastorate  the  church  was 
enlarged,  improved  and  ornamented,  a  new  steeple  being  added 
and  a  grand  pipe-organ  installed.  The  most  important  enterprise, 
however,  was  the  building  of  the  parochial  school,  the  corner  stone  of 
which  was  laid  June  4,  1882,  and  opened  with  a  large  attendance  on 
September  10,  1883. 

Father  Fitz  Simons  remained  only  six  months  later,  being  trans- 
ferred to  Lima,  March  7,  1884,  and  succeeded  in  Dansville,  immedi- 
ately, by  Rev.  James  H.  Day,  whose  pastorate  was  the  largest  in  the 
history  of  the  church.  He  commenced  March  22,  1884  and  ended  his 
labors  here  May  1,  1893,  and  in  these  nine  years  liquidated  $3,000  in- 
debtedness, purchased  and  paid  for  present  convent,  and  improved,  re- 
paired and  embellished  other  church  property.  A  man  of  force  and 
ability  his  successful  work  is  being  continued  in  the  neighboring  vil- 
lage of  Mt.  Morris. 

Rev.  James  T.  Dougherty  was  the  next  pastor,  and  after  eight 
years'  faithful  service  was  transferred  to  Avon  and  subsequently  to 
Canandaigua.  Here  he  assumed  charge  of  the  important  mission 
made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Rev.  Dennis  English.  During  Father 
Dougherty's  memorable  pastorate,  $1,000  indebtedness  was  liquidated, 
$5,000  improvements-made,  the  convent  rebuilt  and  a  cemetery  pur- 
chased. In  1894  a  church  was  built  at  Groveland  and  the  mission  left 
free  from  debt.  An  enthusiastic  temperance  worker,  a  skillful  finan- 
cier and  a  literary  genius,  Father  Dougherty  is  gratefully  remembered 
by  a  majority  of  Dansvillians  of  every  class  and  creed. 

The  present  pastor.  Rev.  Wm.  T.  Dunn,  was  appointed  to  this  parish 
Sept.  14,  1901.  Father  Dunn  is  a  man  of  unusual  earnestness  of  pur- 
pose and  an  indefatigable  worker  for  the  good  of  all.  With  three  bril- 
liant predecessors,  his  arrival  in  Dansville  has  added  a  fourth  name  to 
the  list  of  which  St,  Patrick's  is  justly  proud, 


56 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


The  corner  stone  of  St.  Patrick's  Parochial  School  was  laid  in  1882. 
In  September,  1883,  three  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  were  sent  from  Roch- 
ester to  open  the  school  and  organize  the  classes.  The  school  consists 
of  a  substantial  two-story  brick  edifice  well  arranged  and  equipped 
and  in  charge  of  most  competent  instructors.  The  present  Superior 
is  Sister  Teresa,  assisted  by  Sisters  Euphemia,  Antonette  and  Patnis. 
Many  of  the  leading  men  and  women  of  Dansville  cherish  fond  recol- 
lections of  the  pleasant  and  profitable  days  spent  in  St.  Patrick's. 

The  parish  now  has  600  communi- 
cants at  Dansville  and  100  at  Grove- 
land  and  the  following  auxiliaries: 
The  parochial  school;  the  Missions; 
the  Sunday  School  and  Choir.  The 
Rosary  and  Altar  Society,  with  forty 
members  is  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
D.  E.  Driscoll.  Miss  Margaret 
Maloney  is  president  of  the  Children 
of  Mary  Society,  consisting  of 
fifty-eight  members  .  James  Kelley 
is  president  of  the  Holy  Name 
Society  and  Edward  Brogan  holds 
the  same  office  for  the  Cadets  of  the 
Sacred  Heart. 

Free  from  debt  and   possessed  of 
every  convenience,    this  church   is 
now  enjoying  abundant  prosperity. 
Rev.  William  T.  Dunn 

Born  at  Elmira,  Feb.  23,  1861. 
Educated  in  the  primary  schools, 
Elmira  Free  Academy  and  Niagara  University,  graduating  from  the 
last  institution  May  26,  1888.  Served  as  assistant  pastor  at  Salaman- 
ca for  about  a  year  and  in  charge  of  parish  at  Horseheads  twelve 
years.  Succeeded  Rev.  James  T.  Dougherty  in  Dansville  Sept.  14, 
1901. 


REV.  WILLIAM  T.  DUNN 


vj?    ^* 


Tbe  Betptist  ChiurcH 

The  Dansville  Baptist  Church  was  organized  Oct.  23,  1850,  at  the 
house  of  Barnett  Brayton.  The  Rev.  B.  R.  Swick,  of  Bath,  was 
chairman  of  the  meeting  held  for  that  purpose,  and  M.  R.  Marcell, 
secretary.  The  constituent  members  were:  Aaron  W.  Beach  and 
Mary  Ann  his  wife,  Barnett  Brayton  and  Olive  his  wife,  Martin  R. 
Marcell  and  Emily  his  wife,  Nancy  Filer,  Ann  Brayton,  Maria  Bates, 
Joseph  Palmer,  Elijah  Hill  and  Judith  his  wife,  Paulinus  Cook  and 
Abigail  his  wife.  They  were  recognized  by  a  council  convened  in  the 
Lutheran  church  in  Dansville,  November  6,  1850,  and  composed  of 
delegates  from  the  churches  in  Mt.  Morris,  Bath,  Wayne,  Almond, 
South  Dansville,  Avoca  and  Burns.  Barnett  Brayton  and  Aaron 
Beach  were  chosen  deacons,  November  8,  1850. 


CHURCHES 


57 


At  a  meeting  held  in  Dansville  Academy,  their  usual  place  of  wor- 
ship, December  10,  1850,  the  following  trustees  were  elected :  Paul- 
inas Cook,  George  Hovey,  Barnett  Brayton,  Martin  R.  Marcell, 
Lemuel  J.  Swift,  and  Charles  L.  Truman. 

January  12,  1851,  it  was  resolved  to  call  Howell  Smith,  of  Penn 
Yan,  to  the  pastorate,  at  a  salary  of  $500.  The  call  was  accepted, 
and  Mr.  Smith  commenced  his  labors  the  first  Sunday  in  March  fol- 
lowing. June  24,  1851,  the  church  united  with  the  Livingston  Bap- 
tist Association.     The  church  edifice  was  built  in    1852. 

Mr.  Smith  closed  his  labors,  as  pastor  March,  1855.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  O.  I.  Sprague,  who  comenced  his  labors  May  5,  1855, 
and  closed  them  April  1,  1858.  Edwin  S.  Walker  of  Rochester  The- 
ological  Seminary,    entered  upon   his  labors  as  supply  in  April,  1858, 


k 

< 

\ 

"^ 

% 

1 

u      1 

f 

_^^  l^^rl 

4,  Mj 

1 

4j 

BAPTIST    CHURCH 


1864  to  June  24,  1865;  Elder  M.  Barker  from  June  6,    1866,    to ; 

Rev.  E.  L,  Crane,  from  December,  1870  to  Septeniber  24,  1871 ; 
Rev.  R.  J.  Reynolds,  from  September  3,  1873,  to  September  4,  1874; 
and  July  8,  1858  was  called  to  the  pastorate.  He  commenced  his 
labors  as  such  August  1,  1858,  and  was  ordained  September  16,  1858. 
He  closed  his  labors  in  the  spring  of  1860,  and  was  followed  in  No- 
vember of  that  year  by  Rev.  J.  Wilson,  who  remained  only  about  two 
months.  Rev.  I.  W.  Emory  of  Canaseraga,  supplied  the  pulpit  from 
the  spring  of  1861,  and  April  4,  1861  was  given  a  call  to  the  pastor- 
ate for  one  year  from  April  1,  1861.  He  was  dismissed  April  4,  1863. 
His  successors  have  been:  Rev.  George  W.  Baptis  from   September  3, 


58 


ORGrANIZA  tlON$ 


Rev.  O.  B.  Read,  from  October  10,  1875,  to  July  1877.      Rev.    L.    Q. 
Galpin  Jan.  9,  1878  to  1882,  who  started   extensive  repairs  upon  the 
house  of  worship  and  succeeded  only  in  partially  finishing  same  at  the 
close  of  his  pastorate  in  1882.     He    was  succeeded  by   Rev.    A.  J 
Brown  whose  pastorate  extended  from    May    1,  1883  to  Feb.  1,    1885 
and  who  completely  raised  the   indebtedness  consisting    of  $1,450, 
Rev.  J.  M.  Bates  then  followed  continuing  from  April  1, 1885  to  April  1 
1890,  during  which  time  the  repairs  which  were  begun  by  Rev.  L.  Q 
Galpin  were  completed  through  the  generosity  of  John  J.  Jones,  Esq. 
of  New  York.     Rev.  H.  H.  Thomas  began  his  labors  as  pastor  July 
1,    1890,    and   in   1892  a  fine  parsonage  was  erected     adjoining  the 
church  property  on  Chestnut  Avenue,  at  a  cost  of  $2,600.     His  relation 
as  pastor  terminated  Feb.  1,  1890,  and  William  K.  Towner  of  Hornells- 
ville,  a  singing  evangelist,  came  as  a  supply,  June  1,  1895,  and  accepted 
the   pastorate    Sept.  1  of  the  same  year.     Mr.   Towner  was   ordained 
in  this  church  Feb.  4,  1897,  and   was  married   May  5,    1897   to   Miss 
Florence   Hptchkiss,  at   Locke,    N.    Y. ,   and   continued  his  labors  as 
pastor  until  Nov.  13,  1898.     Rev.  J.  C.   Tibbets  of  Rochester  Theo- 
logical  Seminary  supplied  the  pulpit  from  Dec.  11,  1898  to  Feb.  22, 
1899.     H.  A.  Waite  was  pastor  from  May  24,  1899  to   Sept.    1,    1900. 
William  A.    McKinney,    of  Philadelphia,   a  student  at  the  Rochester 
Theological  Seminary,  supplied  the  pulpit  from  May  12,  1901,  to  Nov. 
1,  1901.     Rev.   Wm.    H.    Brown,    of  Moravia,    is  the  present  pastor, 
having  begun  Nov.  10,  1901. 

The  present  membership  of  the  church  is  ninety-two.  C.  M. 
Kinne,  E.  A.  Hall,  Geo.  E.  Dunklee,  William  Brown,  C.  W.  Hoffman, 
and  J.  C.  Van  Scoter  constitute  the  board   of  trustees.      The   deacons 

are  Charles  M.  Kinne,  George  E. 
Dunklee  and  C.  W.  Hoffman.  Mr. 
Hoffman  is  also  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  School  and  president 
of  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E. 

/Jew.  William  H.  Brown 
Born  at   Moravia,  N.  Y.      Early 
education      received      in     village 
schools.     Preparatorv  course  taken 
at  Moravia    High   School  for  Col- 
gate   University    from     which     he 
graduated    in    1896.       Completed 
course   at     Hamilton     Theological 
Seminary    in   1899.      Ordained    to 
the  Ministry  Sept.  27,  1899  at  Bap- 
tist   church,     Walesville,     N.    Y. , 
which  constituted  his  first  charge. 
Married  to  Katherine  M.  Brownell 
of  Clarks  Mills,  at  the  same  church 
Jan.     24,     1900.       One    daughter, 
Frances,  completes  the  family. 
Pastor  at  First  Baptist  Church  at   Dansville,    since   Nov.    10,  1901. 
Leaving  a  more  prosperous  charge   to   accept  his  present  call,    Mr. 
Brown   has  already  manifested  his  earnestness  of  purpose  in  the  work 
of  God. 


REV.  WILLIAM  H.  BROWN 


THe  Fire  Department 

BYfJ.  L.  AVE,LLINGTON 


T 


HE  history  of  the  Dansville  Fire  Department  dates 
from  the  year  1836,  nine  years  prior  to  the  adoption 
of  the  first  village  charter.  On  March  26  of  that 
year  a  fire  company  was  formed,  taking  the  name 
Washington  Fire  Company  No.  1.  At  that  time 
Dansville  was  included  in  the  town  limits  of  Sparta 
and  the  commission  of  the  company  was  signed  by 
the  Supervisor  and  Justices  of  the  Peace  of  that 
township.  The  persons  appointed  as  members 
were:  William  H.  Pickell,  captain;  Austin  Gard- 
ner, 1st  assistant;  Samuel  Wilson,  2d  assistant; 
Benjamin  Bradley,  clerk;  George  Hyland,  treasurer; 
John  Betts,  Luther  Melvin,  David  D.  McNair, 
Lucius  H.  Brown,  Isaac  H.  Overton,  Jeremiah 
Allee,  David  Holmes,  Frederick  M.  Kuhn,  Philip 
Hasler,  John  Weldy,  Nicholas  Slick,  Volney  G. 
Weston,  Edward  Niles,  Milton  Morey,  and  Eli  B. 
Irvin.  This  company  was  known  as  the  "Coffee- 
mill"  company,  from  the  resemblance  of  their  engine  to  that  article 
of  household  utility.  Water  was  fed  into  the  engine  by  buckets  and 
was  forced  through  the  hose  by  turning  large  cranks  at  the  sides,  each 
crank  accomodating  six  or  eight  men.  Something  of  the  appearance 
of  this  pioneer  company  on  parade  can  be  gained  from  a  resolution 
adopted  by  them  on  July  2,  1838,  when  it  was  resolved  to  "celebrate 
the  Fourth  of  July  in  Firemen's  order;  that  the  company  wear  black 
hats  with  a  blue  ribbon  one-half  inch  wide  as  a  band,  tied  in  a  double- 
bow  knot,  and  to  wear  white  round-abouts  and  dark  pantaloons." 
There  is  nothing  on  record  to  indicate  the  extent  of  fire  duty  per- 
formed by  this  company,  except  the  records  of  their  monthly  "exer- 
cise," which  consisted  in  from  one  to  two  hours  of  running  and  of 
throwing  streams.  The  last  meeting  and  exercise  of  the  original 
"Coffee-mill"  company,  of  which  there  is  any  record,  was  held  Sep- 
tember 7,  1840. 

The  first  village  charter,  adopted  May  7,  1845,  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  one  or  more  fire  companies  of  twenty  members  each, 
and  one  Hook  and  Ladder  company  of  fifteen  members.  One  mem- 
ber of  each  company  was  designated  as  foreman  thereof.  The 
amended  charter  of  May  9,  1846,  limited  the  number  of  fire  companies 
to  one  for  each  fire  engine  procured  by  the  village.  At  the  first  cor- 
poration meeting  (June  16,  1846), it  was  resolved  "to  raise  by  tax  eight 
hundred  dollars  to  purchase  a  fire  engine,  the  necessary  hose  and 
other  apparatus  therefor,  hooks  and  ladders  and  other  necessary 
apparatus  for  a  Hook  and  Ladder  company,  to  erect  or  hire  a  suitable 
place  to  keep  such  engine  or  apparatus,  and  to  pay  the  expense  of  pro- 
curing the  same  and  other  needful  and  proper  expenses." 


59 


60 


ORGANiZA  TIONS 


The  first  company  under  the  charter  was  Engine  Company  No.  1, 
organized  August  5,  1846,  with  the  following  members:  William  C. 
Bryant,  B.  J.  Chapin,  C.  R.  Kern,  William  G.  Thompson,  Samuel  M. 
Welch,  J.  L.  Boone,  C.  W.  Dibble,  George  G.  Wood,  Matthew  Mc- 
Cartney, John  Nares,  C.  E.  Lambert,  and  H.  Howe.  Other  members 
of  this  company  were  the  late  James  Murdock,  who  held  the  position 
of  foreman  three  years,  Samuel  P.  Williams  and  Henry  and  Calvin 
Fenstermacher,  now  living. 

On  September  9,  1846,  the  Board  of  Trustees  approved  the  officers 
and  by-laws  of  the  Phoenix  Engine  Company  No.  1.  The  members  of 
this  company  were:  O.  B.  Maxwell,  R.  Williams,  William  H.  South- 
wick,  William  Hollister,  James  H.  Parker,  J.  D.  Pike,  Charles  Rum- 
ley,  E.  Miles,  M.  Halsted,  L.  H.  Colbourn,  Elias  Geiger,  G.  H.  Rice, 
John  U.  Wallis,  Charles  D.  Heening,  James  M.  Smith,  J.  V.  Taft,  J. 
H.  Freeland,  and  Charles  McElvaney. 


RECEPTION   ROOM   UNION   HOSE   CLUB 


Engine  Company  No.  2  was  formed  December  11,  1849  with  the 
following  members:  Julius  A.  Reynolds,  J.  H.  Conrity,  T.  B.  Good- 
rich, L.  W.  Reynolds,  William  Brown,  Jr.,  G.  F.  Shannon,  J.  G. 
Shepard,  Nicholas  Schu,  H.  Brewer,  Charles  Heidacker,  S.  L.  Barrett, 
J.  W.  Merriman,  B.  Lewis  Brittan,  Jonathan  Doty,  N.  Bavenger,  D. 
Shafer,  H.  O.  Reynale,  A.  N.  Barto,  Charles  Barto,  Carl  Stephan, 
and  Joseph  Hallaner. 

April  28,  1857,  H.  C.  Payne  and  twenty  others  were  organized  as 
Phoenix  Fire  Company  No.  1.  June  21,  1858,  De  Forest  Lozier  and 
eighteen  others  were  constituted  Hope  Fire  Company  No.  2.  DeForest 
Lozier  was  appointed  foreman. 

The  year  1863  marks  the  birth  of  two  of  the  most  efficient  fire  com- 
panies ever  organized   in   Dansville;    the   Canaseraga   Fire   Company 


PIRE  DEPARTMENT 


61 


No.  1,  organized  May  2,  and  the  Phoenix  Fire  Company  No.  2,  or- 
ganized May  20.  The  former  consisted  of  thirty-two  charter  mem- 
bers, all  Germans.  The  officers  were:  Nicholas  Schu,  foreman; 
Conrad  Dick,  1st  assistant ;  Wendel  Schubmehl,  2d  assistant;  James 
Krein,  president;  Peter  Schlick,  vice-president;  Adam  Gilliiim, 
secretary;  John  Blum,  treasurer;  James  Caton,  steward.  This  com- 
pany, during  its  ten  years  of  existence,  took  part  in  many  parades 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  held  many  balls,  devoting,  in  many 
cases,  the  proceeds  to  charitable  purposes.  Their  public  enterprise 
led  them  to  subscribe  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  a  year  for 
the  organizing  and  sustaining  of  the  old  Canaseraga  Cornet  Band 
under  the  leadership  of  Prof.  Michael  Sexton. 

The  Phoenix  Company,  whose  members  were  described  as  an  ener- 
getic, enterprising  and  muscular  set  of  boys,  was  officered  as  follows: 
James  Faulkner,    foreman;  Henry   R.  Curtis,    1st  assistant;  William 


UNION   HOSE   COMPANY  AND   CITIZENS    BAND   ON    PARADE 


McCullum,  2d  assistant;  G.  C.  Dabolle,  president;  John  Hyland, 
vice-president;  A.  O.  Bunnell,  secretary;  Gordon  Wilson,  treasurer; 
Fred  Ripley,  steward. 

These  companies  took  charge  of  the  two  new  engines  which  had 
recently  been  purchased  by  the  village.  The  engines,  which  were  of 
the  old  side-brake  pattern,  arrived  in  Dansville  May  19,  1863.  On 
June  2,  an  appropriation  of  eleven  hundred  dollars  was  voted  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Fire  Department,  and  during  the  progress  of  the  elec- 
tion a  trial  of  the  engines  took  place  between  the  new  companies,  with 
honors  slightly  in  favor  of  the  Canaseragas. 

On  May  22,  two  hose  companies  were  organized,  taking  the  names 
Canaseraga  Hose   No.    2  and  Genesee   Hose  No.  3.     The  companies 


62 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


were  attached  to  the  Canaseraga  and  Phoenix  companies,  respectively. 
The  members  were  boys  under  twenty-one  and  their  duties  consisted 
chiefly  in  carting  and  caring  for  the  hose. 

Both  the  Canaseraga  and  the  Phoenix  company  disbanded  in  1872. 
The  former  disbanded  and  reorganized  on  May  2,  1870,  but  on  the 
13th  of  May,  two  years  later,  the  engine  was  formally  turned  over  to 
the  village  trustees  and  the  company  property  sold.  From  the  dis- 
bandment  of  these  companies  up  to  1874,  Dansville  was  practically 
without  organized  fire  protection,  fire  duty  being  performed  by  the 
citizens  in  general  without  reference  to  organization. 

In  June  1874  a  meeting  was  called  at  the  Hyland  House  at  which 
preliminary  arrangements  were  made  for  organizing  a  hose  company. 
On  the  17th  of  the  month,  at  an  adjourned  meeting,  the  organization 
was  completed  and  adopted  the  name  Union   Hose   Company   No.    1. 


BILLIARD   ROOM   UNION   HOSE   CLUB 


Twenty-four  enrolled  as  charter  members  as  follows:  George  Hyland, 
Jr.,  foreman;  John  J.  Bailey,  assistant  foreman;  George  A.  Sweet, 
president;  Thos.  E.  Gallagher,  vice-president;  Legrand  Snyder,  sec- 
retary; H.  Frank  Dyer,  treasurer;  Seth  N.  Hedges,  Randolph  D. 
LaRue,  Thomas  J.  Burby,  Thomas  O'Meara,  Charles  Sutfin,  Gates 
L.  Austin,  Herman  W.  DeLong,  Solon  S.  Dyer,  Judd  C.  Whitehead, 
James  M.  Edwards,  Samuel  Sturgeon,  Jr.,  Frank  H.  Toles,  Frederick 
W.  Noyes,  Jesse  B.  Prussia,  William  A.  Spinning,  George  B.  Thomp- 
son, William  Welch,  and  Elmer  F.  Hamsher. 

The  present  memberhip  consists  of  twenty-eight  active  members 
and  seventy-seven  club  room  members.  The  following  are  the  present 
officers:  J.  B.  Morey,   president;    C.    J.    LaBoyteaux,   vice-president; 


I' mil  nEi\  I K  'fJi/ENT 


C.3 


James  F.  Kramer,  secretary;  R.  W.  Adams,  treasurer;  George 
O'Meara,  Karl  Kramer,  D.  C.  Bryant,  F.  E.  Kenney,  L.  H.  Heckman, 
G.  H.  Cutler,  trustees;  G.  A.  Sutfin,  foreman;  George  O'Meara,  1st 
assistant;  L.  J.  Schwingel,  2d  assistant.  Meetings  are  held  at  their 
rooms  in  the  Ossian  Street  Fire  Building,  the  first  Monday  in  each 
month.  This  company  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  disciplined  of 
volunteer  fire  companies.  It  supports  an  elegant  suite  of  rooms  in  the 
Maxwell  Block,  and  the  social  and  club  features  are  made  prominent. 
The  company's  annual  ball  is  regarded  as  the  chief  social  event  of  the 
year,  and  its  bi-annual  minstrel  show  bespeaks  credit  to  the  talent  and 
enterprise  of  the  company. 


y-- 


'MP 


iiiPjSnii  ^^-- 


THE   PROTECTIVES   ON   PARADE 


The  Protectives  No.  1,  was  organized  January  24,  1876  with 
i.wenty-live  charter  members,  and  two  days  later  was  admitted  to  the 
(le|jartnieui.  The  charter  members  were:  James  Porter,  foreman; 
I'liarles  V.  Patchin,  1st  assistant;  C.  A.  Snyder,  2d  assistant;  H.  K. 
VanNuys,  jiresident;  W.  H.  Dick,  vice-president;  Edward  Moody, 
yecretary;  J.  F.  Bryant,  treasurer  and  steward;  George  M.  Blake, 
Fred  T.  Brettle,  Edwin  R.  Woodruff,  Charles  H.  Rowe,  F.  William 
Krein,  Joseph  W.  Burgess,  Lansing  B.  Grant,  Lawrence  G.  Tilden, 
Al.  A.  Oaks,  Frank  E.  Kenney,  Frank  L.  Miller,  Henry  F.  Beyer, 
Alva  W.  Pease,  Alonzo  B.  Lindsay,  C.  Britt  Casterline,  William  C. 
Croll,  William  J.  Lee. 

From  its  inception  this  company  has  been  an  active  and  potent 
factor  in  the  department.  Its  outfit  consists  of  the  latest  improved 
extinguishers,  ropes,  stakes,  buckets,  rubber  blankets  and  all  that  go 
to  make  up  an  efficient  fire-fighting  equipment.  The  company  sup- 
ports a  large  and  nicely  furnished  suite  of  rooms  in  the  Kramer  Block, 


-  < 

D    ^ 

£   w        z 


F[RE  DEPARTMENT 


65 


over  the  Merchants  and  Farmers  Bank.  The  present  officers  are: 
H.  A.  Schwingle,  foreman;  Guy  Hungerford,  1st  assistant ;  B.  F. 
Lander,  2d  assistant;  W.  J.  Maloney,  president;  J.  L.Wellington, 
vice-president;  A.  E.  Thurston,  secretary;  H.  M.  Altmeyer,  treas- 
urer; Joseph  Kimmel,  S.  E.  Allen,  E.  H.  Maloney,  B.  F.  Lander, 
H.  C.  Folts,  trustees;  A.  E.  Thurston,  N.  W.  Uhl,  H.  C.  Folts,  club 
room  committee.  Meetings  of  the  company  are  held  the  first  Wed- 
nesday in  each  month  at  the  Exchange  Street  Fire  Building.  The 
present  membership  numbers  thirty-five.  This  company  was  incor- 
porated jNIay  3,  1876. 


u')     f- 


The  Fearless  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  No.  1  was  admitted  to 
the  department  at  the  same  time  as  the  Protectives.  There  were 
twenty-eight  charter  members  as  follows:  D.  K.  Price,  foreman; 
Martin  LaForce,  1st  assistant;  Conrad  Kramer,  2d  assistant;  James 
Hoover,  president;  J.  Kramer,  Jr.,  vice-president;  F,  Schubmehl, 
secretary;  Baldis  Foote,  treasurer;  Adolph  Huber,  steward;  Peter 
LaForce,  H.  Steinhardt,  F.  S.  Schubmehl,  M.  C.  Hirsch,  Fred 
Freidel,  E.  C.  Klauck,  Albert  vSaurbier,  Jacob  Sturm,  G.  Fesley, 
Peter  Geiger,  Conrad  Yocum,  S.  Schwan,  A.  Lauterborn,  Wm. 
Thomas,  Jr.,  F.  Gregorious,  Jacob  Foot,  T.  Eschrich,  J.  Hubertus, 
B.  Shafer,  and  Peter  J.  Deitsch.  The  company  now  has  thirty-three 
active  members,  including  the  following  officers:  Matt  Cook,  presi- 
dent; Frank  Zafifke,  vice-president;  F.  E.  Sprague,  secretary;  H. 
Zaffke,  treasurer;  William  Freas,  foreman;  Peter  Michael,  1st  assist- 
ant; Lew  Wilbur,  2d  assistant;  Isaac  Rauber,  color  bearer;  John 
Gerger,  William  Olmstead,  John  Rectenwald,  Ernest  Freiberg,  John 
Fidler,  trustees.  Meetings  are  held  the  first  Tuesday  of  each  month, 
at  their  rooms  in  the  Exchange  Street  Fire  Building. 

The  "Hooks,"  as  they  are  familiarly  known,  are  a  muscular  set  of 
men  and  the  individual  pride  taken  by  the  members  in  the  company's 
enterprises,  necessarily  sets  a  high  standard  of  efficiency.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  the  company  has  held  membership  in  the  New  York  State 
Volunteer  Firemen's  Association,  its  delegates  always  taking  an  active 
part  in  the  councils  of  that  organization.  The  company  was  incor- 
porated March  28,  1877. 


66  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  last  company  to  enter  the  department  was  Jackson  Hose  No. 
2,  which  was  organized  October  27,  1890,  with  a  charter  membership 
of  fourteen  as  follows:  J.J.  Peck  foreman;  Jacob  Huver,  1st  assi:3t- 
ant;  William  Doty,  2d  assistant;  William  Huver,  jjresident:  V.  J, 
Hoffman,  vice-president;  J.  J.  Rohner,  secretary;  Goorf^c  iii>*.;liric)i, 
treasurer;  Samuel  Townsend,  Joseph  Losey,  Chester  Bailor,  Michael 
Hubertus,  Harry  Howe,  William  Ash,  and  Clarence  Sariifenl.  The 
present  officers  are:  Bert  Holbrook,  president ;  I.  L.  Opp,  vice-presi- 
dent; Edward  J.  Zaffke,  secretary;  John  Kress,  treasurer;  Gus  Dick, 
foreman;  Frank  S.  Fox,  1st  assistant ;  Wm.  Howe,  2d  assistant;  Jamet- 
A.Alverson,  Wm.  Short,  Wm.  Zaffke,  N.  Price,  Samuel  Peterson,  trus- 
tees. Meetings  are  held  the  first  Monday  in  each  month  at  the  Ex- 
change Street  Fire  Building.     The  present  membership  is  thirty. 


JACKSON   HOSE   TRUCK 


There  was  considerable  discussion  at  the  time  Jackson  Hose  com- 
pany was  organized  as  to  the  need  of  a  fourth  company  and  an  effort 
was  made  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  taxpayers  to  prevent  the  new 
company  from  being  admitted  to  the  department.  But  upon  the 
written  guarantee  of  the  company  to  supply  themselves  with  1,000 
feet  of  hose  before  the  first  day  of  January  1893,  the  question  was 
submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  taxpayers  and  the  company  was  admitted 
by  a  majority  of  twenty -five.  The  company  is  well  organized  and 
equipped.  It  supports  a  hose  team  of  twelve  men  which  has  taken 
part  in  various  contests,  always  with  credit  to  themselves  and  to  the 
department.  At  Geneseo,  August  17,  1890,  the  team  made  the 
record  of  laying  300  yards  of  hose,  made  the  couplings,  and  had  the 
stream  on  in  59|-  seconds.  Their  record  for  200-yard  hub-and-hub 
race  is  23;  3  seconds. 

These  four  companies  constitute  the  present  Fire  Department. 
When  on  duty  all  officers  and  members  of  the  various  companies,  as 
well  as  all  police  officers  and  citizens,  are  subject  to  the  orders  of  the 
Chief  Engineer,  who  is  chosen  annually  by  the  Department,  subject, 
however,  to  the  approval  of  the  village  Board  of  Trustees. 

In  1892  there  was  a  severe  controversy  over  the  election  of  Chief 
Engineer,  and  as  a  compromise  a  system  of  rotation    -vyas  adopted  by 


FIRE  DEPARTMENT  67 

means  of  which  the  office  rotated  annually  from  one  company  to  an- 
other in  reo'ular  siicession.  The  system  was  never  satisfactory,  and 
at  the  regular  annual  meeting  held  February  18,  1'J(I2,  Charles  A. 
Brown,  in  behalf  of  Union  Hose  company,  presented  a  resolution  pro- 
viding for  its  abolishment.  At  an  adjourned  meeting,  one  week  later, 
the  resolution  was  passed,  and  Patrick  J.  Melody  of  the  Hook  and 
Ladder  company  was  elected  Chief. 

The  persons  holding  the  office  of  Chief  Engineer  since  the  inception 
of  the  present  department  are :  George  Hyland,  1876-1879 ;  James 
Faulkner,  1S80-18S4;  C.  V.  Patchin,  1885;  George  Hvland,  1880-1887 ; 
Henry  Fedder,  188S;  J.  W.  Burgess,  1889-1890;  W.  vS.  Oberdorf, 
1891;  J.  W.  Burgess,  1892;  F.  L.  Kramer,  1893;  B.  G.  Readshaw, 
1894;  John  H.  Huver,  1895;  Jacob  Huver,  1896;  (reorge  R.  Brown, 
1897;  George  W.  Whitney,  18<)8;  John  Rectenwald,  189');  P.  J.  Cole- 
man, 1900;  N.  W.  Uhl,  1901;  Patrick  J.  Melody,  1902. 

For  nearly  thirty  years  the  only  water  supply  for  fire  purposes  were 
public  wells  sunk  at  various  places  throughout  the  village,  and  from 
private  cisterns  when  accessible.  Various  efforts  were  made  from 
time  to  time  to  secure  an  appropriation  for  effectually  supplying  the 
village  with  water,  but  the  question  was  not  satisfactorily  disposed  of 
until  August  20,  1873,  when  the  electors  resolved  to  issue  bonds  in  the 
sum  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for  the  construction  of  water 
works.  A  dam  was  constructed  in  ]\Iill  Creek  above  the  California 
House,  at  a  height  of  182  feet  above  the  lower  end  of  Main  street.  A 
gravity  system  was  thus  established  which  continued  to  serve  until 
the  fall  of  1895,  when  the  present  system  was  established,  since  which 
time  the  village  has  been  amply  supplied  with  all  water  needed  for  fire 
purposes.  The  235-foot  fall  affords  sufficient  pressure  to  throw  a 
stream  with  ease  high  over  the  tallest  block  in  the  village,  and  the 
112  hydrants  are  so  distributed  as  to  afford  protection  to  every  part  of 
the  village  even  to  the  farthest  outskirt. 

No  account  of  the  Dansville  Fire  Department  would  be  complete 
without  some  reference  to  Livingston  Volunteer  Firemen's  Asso- 
ciation, in  which  organization  and  maintenance  the  Dansville  com- 
panies have  taken  an  active  part.  On  August  8  and  9,  1894,  and 
again  on  August  15  and  16,  1900,  the  Dansville  companies,  in  con- 
junction with  the  citizens,  entertained  the  various  companies  of  Liv- 
ingston county,  numbering  in  all  about  a  thousand  firemen. 

The  department  appurtenances  consist  of  about  3,000  feet  of  hose, 
four  hose  wagons,  a  hook  and  ladder  truck,  a  Protective  cart,  to- 
gether with  the  numerous  paraphernalia,  the  value  of  which  amounts 
to  nearly  ten  thousand  dollars.  This  equipment,  backed  by  the 
energy  and  earnestness  of  over  one  hundred  capable  and  intelligent 
young  men,  places  the  Dansville  Fire  Department  in  the  forefront  of 
volunteer  fire  organizations. 


Fraternal  Societies    I 


Jl.  O.  H. 

First  Division  No.  3  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians  was  orp^anized  December  3,  1893,  by  the 
County  President,  John  A.  Coultry  of  Mt.  Morris.  The 
purpose  of  the  order  being  to  promote  friendship,  unity 
and  Christian  charity  among  the  members  by  raising  or 
supporting  a  fund  of  money  for  maintaining  the  aged, 
sick,  blind,  and  infirm  members,  and  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  principles  of  Irish  Nationality.  Twenty- 
one  charter  members  were  listed  with  the  following 
officers:  A.  J.  Murphy,  president;  John  W.  O'Connor,  vice-president; 
John  M.  Burke,  recording  secretary;  Wm.  Dowling,  financial  secre- 
tary; M.  J.  Welch,  treasurer.  The  last  three  county  presidents  have 
all  been  from  Dansville,  John  M.  Burke,  P.  F.  Morgan  and  John  W. 
O'Connor,  having  in  turn  acceptably  filled  the  office.  Meetings  are 
held  in  the  first  and  third  Tuesdays  of  each  month  in  A.  O.  H.  hall, 
third  floor  of  Shepard  block.  The  present  number  of  members  is 
fifty-one,  with  the  following  officers:  M.  J.  Driscoll,  president;  John 
W.  Finn,  vice-president;  John  M.  Burke,  recording  secretary ;  M.  J. 
O'Hara,  financial  secretary ;  W.  H.  Rowan,  treasurer. 

Mr.  John  M.  Burke,  who  furnished  the  above  information,  has  been 
county  president  for  one  term  and  is  now  completing  his  third  term 
as  recording  secretary  of  the  local  division,  the  splendid  condition  of 
which  is  a  matter  of  more  than  local  pride. 

C.  11  ^  B.  Ji. 

St.  Patrick's  Council  No.  16,  of  the  Catholic  Relief  and  Beneficiary 
Association,  which  is  everything  that  its  name  implies,  was  organized 
during  1892  by  L.  A.  Schwan.  From  the  first  seventeen  members  the 
following  officers  were  chosen:  L.  A.  Schwan,  president;  Mat  Cook, 
1st  vice-president;  N.  J.  Gerber,  2d  vice-president;  Fred  Schwan, 
financial  secretary;  Phillip  E.  Blum,  treasurer;  Frank  J.  Johantgen, 
recording  secretary;  Frank  Gerber,  marshal;  Charles  Fox,  guard; 
Daniel  Blum,  Jacob  Vogt,  William  Rowan,  trustees. 

There  are  sixty  members  at  present  and  a  substantial  reserve  fund 
in  the  treasury.  The  present  officers  are:  Rev.  M.  Krischel,  spiritual 
advisor;  Jacob  J.  Vogt,  district  deputy  organizer;  N.  J.  Gerber, 
president;  G.  H.  Fries,  1st  vice-president;  Jacob  J.  Simon,  2d  vice- 
president;  J.  J.  Vogt,  financial  secretary ;  G.  W.  Shafer,  recording 
secretary;  C.  C.  Fox,  guard;  N.  F.  Smith,  chancellor;  H.  Zaffke, 
John  P.  Mahoney,  William  Rauber,  Joseph  B.  Myers,  Jacob  J.  Vogt, 
trustees.  Meetings  are  held  every  other  Wednesday  evening  in  their 
Council  Hall  in  the  Howarth  Block. 

Mr.  Jacob  J.  Vogt,  who  furnished  the  above  information,  has  been 
trustee,  president,  financial  secretary,  district  deputy  organizer,  and 
delegate,  filling  all  these  important  offices  most  acceptably. 


69 


70 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


Jt.  o.  u.  w. 

Dansville  Lodge  No.  101,  Ancient  Order^  of 
United  Workmen,  a  fraternal  society,  was  organized 
in  Dansville  by  Grand  Special  Deputy,  William 
MacWorters,  August  10,  1900.  There  were  eighteen 
charter  members  from  whom  were  elected  the  follow- 
ing officers:  Chas.  Schafer,  past  master  workman; 
Wm.  A.  Rowan,  master  workman;  Alton  E.  Ran- 
dall, foreman;  Edward  P.  Maloney,  overseer;  S.  E. 
Wright,  recorder;  F.  W.  Schwingle,  financier;  Ira  M.  Bates,  receiver; 
L.  A.  Pfuntner,  inside  watchman;  Fred  Dantz,  outside  watchman; 
John  Schuster,  guide. 

The  membership  at  present  numbers  sixty  with  the  following 
officers:  Alton  E.  Randall,  pastmaster  workman;  Edward  Peck, 
master  workman ;  John  W.  Shafer,  foreman ;  Robert  Sinclair,  over- 
seer; Charles  H.  Peck,  recorder;  William  A.  Rowan,  financier;  Wil- 
liam Foote,  receiver;  L.  A.  Pfuntner,  inside  watchman;  Fred  Dantz, 
outside  watchman;  George  B.  Foote,  guide.  William  A.  Rowan  is 
representative  to  Grand  Lodge,  and  Alton  E.  Randall,  alternate. 
Meetings  are  held  the  first  and  third  Thursdays  of  each  month  in  A. 
O.  H.  hall. 

Alton  E.  Randall,  the  author  of  this  sketch,  has  been  foreman  and 
master  workman  each  one  term,  and  is  at  present  past  master  work- 
man of  local  lodge. 

C.  M.  B.  Jl. 

Branch  No.  73  of  the  Catholic  Mutual  Benefit  Asso- 
ciation, a  fraternal  organization,  was  instituted  in  Dans- 
ville on  the  22d  day  of  September,  1884.  From  among 
the  twelve  charter  members,  the  following  officers  were 
chosen:  Louis  A.  Schwan,  president;  Thomas  Earls, 
1st  vice-president;  Daniel  Burns,  2d  vice-president; 
Patrick  O'Hara,  recording  secretary;  Frank  Engel,  Jr.,  assistant  re- 
cording secretary;  William  F.  Veith,  financial  secretary;  Daniel 
Blum,  treasurer;  Nicholas  Hubertus,  marshal;  Michael  Hirsch, 
guard;  Joseph  Cogan,  Jr.,  Nicholas  Grimm,  George  Albert,  L.  A. 
Schwan,  Thomas  Earls,  trustees. 

The  presidents  in  rotation  since  the  branch  was  organized  are :  Louis 
Schwan,  Joseph  Cogan,  Daniel  Blum,  George  Albert,  Emil  Klauck, 
Edward  Bacon,  Dennis  Foley,  Thomas  Earls,  Jacob  Smith,  James 
Kelly,  Daniel  Driscoll,  Joseph  Pfuntner,  Patrick  Reilly,  Joseph  Ott. 
There  are  seventy  present  members  in  good  standing  with  the 
following  list  of  officers:  Joseph  Ott,  president;  Joseph  Stiegler,  1st 
vice-president;  Patrick  Reilly  2d  vice-president ;  James  Kelly,  secre- 
tary; William  Kelly,  assistant  secretary;  Albin  Altmeyer,  financial 
secretary;  Wendell  Pfuntner,  treasurer ;  Robert  Goodwin,  marshal; 
Max  Beck,  guard;  D.  Foley,  Thomas  Maloney,  Edward  Bacon,  James 
Welch,  Jacob  Smith,  trustees.  Meetings  are  held  every  Thursday 
evening  at  eight  p.  m.,  in  the  C.  M.  B.  A.  rooms  located  on  third 
floor  of  Citizens  Bank  Building. 

Mr.  James  Kelly,  who  supplied  the  above  information,  a  member 
since  1888,  has  been    twice  president  and  is  now  recording  secretary. 


J'RA  TIiRN.  I L  SOClli  I'lliS 


1\ 


F.  Sr  A.  M. 

Phoenix  Lodge  No.  115,  F.  &  A.  M., 
was  instituted  April  IS,  1846,  and  char- 
tered August  18,  1846.  The  charter 
officers  were:  Merritt  Brown,  master;  John 
Culbertson,  S.  W. ;  Javan  Bradley,  J.  W. 
There  are  now  in  good  standing  125  mem- 
bers with  the  following  officers:  F  P. 
Magee,  W.  M.  ;  C.  J.  LaBoyteaux,  S.  W.  ; 
J.  E.  McCurdy,  J.  W. ;  R.  W.  Adams,  Sr. 
D. ;  J.  G.  Kramer,  Jr.  D. ;  G.  S.  Wilson, 
treasurer;  B.  G.  Readshaw,  secretary;  Oscar  Woodruff,  chaplain;  S. 
L.  Keyes,  tiler;  George  DeL.  Bailey,  vS.  M.  C.;  N.  B.  Gorham,  J.  M. 
C. ;  George  L.  Krein,  marshal;  F.  M.  Ferine,  Oscar  Woodruff,  C. 
W.  Woolever,  trustees.  The  lodge  meetings  are  held  on  the  first  and 
third  Tuesdays  of  each  month  in  their  handsomely  equipped  quarters 
in  the  Maxwell  Block,  four  rooms  of  which  are  used  exclusively  by 
this  society.  The  succession  of  worthy  master  since  organization, 
excepting  the  first  five  years,  the  records  for  which  have  been  lost,  are 
as  follows:  '51,  O.  T.  Crane;  '52,  O.  Tousey;  '53,  J.  A.  Vanderlip; 
'54,  E.  W.  Patchin;  '55,  A.  J.  Peck;  '56,  Z.  H.  Blake;  '57,  H.  Jones; 
'58,  William  A.  Roberts;  '59,  Henry  Hartman;  '60-'63,  Stephen 
Brayton;  '64-'65,  Henry  Hartman;  '66-'67,  J.  A.  Vanderlip;  '68-'70, 
Abram  Lozier;  '71-72,  N.  Schu;  '73,  W.  J.  LaRue;  '74-'75,  Henry 
Hartman;  '76,  James  S.  Murdock;  '77,  B.  T.  vSquires;  '7S,  Elmer  F. 
Hamsher;  '79,  James  H.  Jackson;  '80-81,  John  C.  Wheaton ;  '82, 
George  C.  Stone;  '83-84,  A.  H.  Lemen;  '85,  C.  V.  Patchin;  '86, 
James  Lindsay;  '87-89,  A.  P.  Burkhart;  '9(1,  O.  R.  Stone;  ''il-'92, 
A.  P.  Burkhart;  '93-'94,  George  L.  Krein;  '')S,  A.  P.  Burkhart;  '96- 
'97,  George  L.  Krein;  '98-99,  C.  W.  Woolever;  '00,  B.  H.  Oberdorf; 
'01,  F.  P.  Magee. 

Mr.  B.  G.  Readshaw,  who  supplied  the  information  contained  in 
this  sketch,  has  been  a  member  since  '99,  serving  as  secretary  since 
January,  '00. 


E.  K   O.  R. 

A  fraternal  insurance  society,  Sherman  Council  No.  24,  Empire 
Knights  of  Relief,  was  organized  February,  1891,  and  changed  to 
Burkhart  Council  No.  24,  April  4,  1892,  and  transferred  to  Safety 
Fund  Insurance  Society,  August,  1900.  There  were  twenty  charter 
members  with  officers  as  follows:  Dr.  A.  P.  Burkhart,  commander; 
William  Kramer,  past  commander;  O.  R.  Stone,  vice-commander; 
William  H.  Clavel,  assistant  commander;  Joseph  G.  Munding,  secre- 
tary; John  J.  Sterner,  receiver  and  treasurer;  Rev.  R.  M.  Sherman, 
chaplain;  Henry  Schwingle,  orator;  George  R.  Brown,  guide; 
Phillip  E.  Blum,  guard;  D.  O.  Batterson,  William  Kramer,  Henry 
Schwingle,  trustees;  Dr.  F.  R.  Driesbach,  medical  examiner.  The 
present  membership  is  ten. 

George  R.  Brown,  who  furnished  this  information,  has  been  guide, 
vice-commander,  orator,  commander,  and  since  1897  receiver  and 
treasurer. 


72 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


*\*'ii^^'-mmmm/ 


I.  O.  R.  M. 

Kan-a-skra-ga  Tribe  No.  372  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  a  fraternal  insurance 
society,  was  instituted  in  Dansville  by 
District  Deputy  Great  Sachem  W.  H. 
Brace,  December  2,  1897,  assisted  by  de- 
gree team  from  Onalee  Tribe,  Avon,  N.  Y. 
Sixty  charter  members  organized  with  the  follow- 
ing officers:  Dr.  J.  E.  Crisfield,  sachem;  A.  H. 
Plimpton,  senior  -  sagamore;  George  R.  Brown, 
junior  sagamore;  Daniel  Fenstermacher,  prophet; 
Dr.  J.  F.  McPhee,  chief  of  records;  E.  J.  Foote, 
keeper  of  wampum;  George  J.  Lindsay,  collector  of 
wampum;  E.  R.  Woodruff,  H.  M.  Altmeyer,  J.  F. 
Hubertus,  trustees.  Since  organization  the  follow- 
ing sachems  have  held  office:  J.  E.  Crisfield  to 
July,  1898;  C.  V.  Patchin  to  July,  1899;  William 
Cogswell  to  July,  1900;  George  L.  Krein  to  January,  1901;  William 
Schwingel  to  July,  1901;  A.  L.  VanValkenburg.  Those  who  have 
acted  in  the  capacity  of  C.  of  R.  are:  W.  J.  Fedder  to  July,  1900;  E. 
R.  Woodruff  to  July,  1901;  William  Schwingel.  The  title  of  senior 
sagamore  has  been  conferred  upon  the  following:  A.  H.  Plimpton  to 
January,  1898;  C.  V.  Patchin  to  July,  1898;  P.  W.  Kershner  to  July, 
1899;  A.  L.  VanValkenburg  to  January,  1900;  George  L.  Krein  to 
July,  1900;  William  Schwingel  to  January,  1901;  A.  L.  VanValken- 
burg to  July,  1901;  Charles  Ginock. 

The  Tribe  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition  having  a  present  mem- 
bership of  nearly  one  hundred  members  and  nearly  $1,000  in  the  wam- 
pum belt.  The  members  have  lately  organized  a  Haymakers'  associ- 
ation of  thirty  members,  and  a  Continental  Red  Men's  League  of 
thirty-six  members.  The  deaths  since  organization  have  been  two 
members  and  the  wife  of  another  member. 

The  present  officers  are  as  follows :  A.  L.  VanValkenburg,  sachem ; 
Charles  Ginock,  senior  sagamore;  N.  F.  Smith,  junior  sagamore; 
William  Cogswell,  prophet;  William  Schwingel,  chief  of  records; 
Albin  A.  Altmeyer,  collector  of  wampum;  Alton  E.  Randall,  trustee; 
William  Cogswell  and  C.  V.  Patchin,  keepers  of  the  faith.  Officers 
appointed:  Matt  Cook,  guard  of  the  wigwam;  E.  A.  VanScoter, 
guard  of  the  forest;  John  Fidler,  N.  Hubertus,  H.  McWhorter,  A.  E. 
Thurston,  warriors;  Roy  Kingsley,  A.  E.  Randall,  Joseph  Steigler, 
James  Wood,  braves;  H.  McWhorter,  George  Hubertus,  A.  E. 
Thurston,  finance  committee.  Meetings  are  held  at  Red  Men's  Hall, 
Shepard  Block,  every  Monday  evening  from  October  1st  to  April  1st, 
and  on  the  first  and  third  Mondays  in  each  month  from  April  to 
October. 

The  author  of  the  above  sketch  is  Dr.  Charles  V.  Patchin,  who  has 
filled  the  stumps  of  senior  sagamore  and  sachem,  at  present  and 
for  three  consecutive  years,  has  been  district  deputy  great  sachem  for 
the  reservation  of  Livingston  county. 


FRATERNAL  SOCIETIES  73 

L.  C.  8.  A. 

St.  Elizabeth  Branch  No.  78,  Ladies  Catholic  Be- 
nevolent Association,  was  organized  July  20,  1891  in 
the  C.  M.  B.  A.  rooms  by  Mrs.  K.  J.  Dowling,  Su- 
preme Deputy,  assisted  by  Miss  S.  Quinn,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  fraternal  insurance.  There  were  sixteen  char- 
ter members  with  the  following  officers:  Rev.  J.  H. 
Day,  spiritual  advisor;  Minnie  O'Donnell,  president; 
Mrs.  Margaret  Donnelly,  1st  vice-president;  Mrs.  Margaret  Schub- 
mehl,  2d  vice-president;  Mrs.  A.  Schoonhart,  recorder;  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Werdein,  assistant  recorder;  Mrs.  A.  Driscoll,  financial  secre- 
tary; Miss  Katharine  Hubertus,  treasurer;  Mrs.  Kate  Krein,  mar- 
shal; Miss  Anna  Burke,  guard;  Mrs.  Mary  Alberts,  Mrs.  Mary 
Maloney,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Byron,  Mrs.  Minnie  Pfuntner,  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Morgan,  trustees;  Mrs.  Rosa  Klauck,  Mrs.  Kate  Krein,  Miss 
Anna  Burke,  auditors. 

The  present  membership  is  eighty-three,  with  the  following  officers: 
Rev.  W.  T.  Dunn,  spiritual  advisor;  Mrs.  Margaret  Buxton,  presi- 
dent; Mrs.  Margaret  Ott,  1st  vice-president;  Miss  Margaret  Deren- 
bacher,  2d  vice-president;  Mrs.  Rosa  H.  Klauck,  recording  secretary ; 
Miss  Susan  Weynand,  assistant  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Kate 
Krein,  financial  secretary;  Miss  Margaret  Maloney,  treasurer;  Mrs. 
Anna  Driscoll,  Miss  Anna  Denzer,  Miss  Nora  Heiman,  trustees;  Miss 
Lena  Gross,  marshal;  Mrs.  iSIadeline  Steffler,  guard;  Mrs.  Rosa  H. 
Klauck,  Mrs.  Anna  Driscoll,  Mrs.  Katharine  Finn,  board  of  appeals. 
Meetings  are  held  alternate  Tuesday  evenings  at  C.  M.  B.  A.  rooms. 

Mrs.  Anna  Driscoll,  the  author  of  this  sketch,  is  a  charter  member 
and  has  served  as  president,  recorder,  financial  secretary  and  trustee 
of  the  local  society. 

L.  O.  T.  M. 

Dansville  Hive  No.  172  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees,  was  in- 
stituted June  21,  1894,  by  Deputy  Commander  Ada  L.  Johnson.  The 
L.  O.  T.  M.  is  a  fraternal  life  benefit  association  for  women  and  an 
auxiliary  of  the  K.  O.  T.  M.  There  were  twenty-seven  charter  mem- 
bers with  the  following  officers:  Fannie  J.  Welch,  past  commander; 
Mary  A.  Wheaton,  commander;  Lena  C.  Sprague,  lieutenant  com- 
mander; Eleanor  McNeil,  record  keeper;  Carrie  M.  O'Brien,  finance 
keeper;  Amelia  C.  Sutfin,  chaplain;  Barbara  Eschrich,  sergeant; 
Cora  M.  Lindsay,  mistress  at  arms;  Mary  L.  Sauerbier,  sentinel; 
Barbara  Folts,  picket. 

At  present  there  are  over  120  members  and  the  following  is  the  list 
of  officers:  Mary  A.  Wheaton,  past  commander;  Cora  M.  Lindsay, 
commander;  Mary  E.  Thrall,  lieutenant  commander;  Lena  C. 
Sprague,  record  keeper;  Rose  M.  Rowan,  finance  keeper;  Kate  Nor- 
ton, chaplain;  Mary  Murphy,  sergeant;  Kate  Smith,  mistress  at 
arms;  Theresa  Hemmer,  sentinel ;  Mary  L.  Sauerbier,  picket.  Meet- 
ings are  held  the  second  and  fourth  Wednesday  evenings  in  each 
month  in  K.  O.  T.  M.  hall. 

Mrs.  Lena  C.  Sprague,  who  has  been  a  member  since  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  local  society  and  has  been  lieutenant  commander  two 
years  and  record  keeper  five  years,  is  entitled  to  credit  for  the  above 
information. 


74  ORGANIZA  TIONS 

K.  O.  T.  M. 

DansvilleTent  No  64,  a  local  branch  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees  of  the  World, 
which  is  a  fraternal  life  insurance  society, 
was  organized  by  Deputy  Charles  Melville, 
February  22,  1888,  with  twenty-four  charter 
members.  At  the  first  meeting  the  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected:  Frank  Mehlen- 
bacher,  past  commander;  J.  B.'Morey,  com- 
mander; Charles  V.  Patchin,  lieutenant 
commander;  Henry  M.  Altmeyer,  R.  K.  ; 
William  Cogswell,  F.  K. ;  H.  Fenstermacher, 
prelate;  Michael  Rowan,  sergeant;  Charles 
V.  Patchin,  physician;  Thomas  Bowman,  Mas.  at  A.  ;  Herbert  J.  Mil- 
ler, 1st  M.  G. ;  J.  H.  Galbraith,  2d  M.  G. ;  N.  Denzer,  sentinel ;  Albert 
Sauerbier,  picket. 

Since  organization  the  following  commanders  have  been  installed: 
Jonathan  B.  Morey,  1888-89;  Charles  V.  Patchin,  1889-90;  Herbert 
J.  Miller,  1890-94;  William  Cogswell,  1894-96;  Peter  W.  Kershner, 
1896-01;  Adam  Gessner,  1901-02;  E.  J.  Rowan,  1902.  The  record 
keepers  for  the  same  period  have  been  Henry  M.  Altmeyer,  1889-90; 
Jacob  Folts,  1890-93;  James  M.  Kennedy,  1893-94;  John  W.  Perrv, 
1894-95;  Adam  Freidel,  1895-96;  Edward  J.  Rowan,  1896-1902, 
Robert  Gamble,  1902. 

The  present  membership  of  the  tent  is  135  and  officers  are  as  fol- 
lows: Adam  Gessner,  past  commander;  E.  J.  Rowan,  commander; 
Jacob  Young,  lieutenant  commander;  Robert  Gamble,  R.  K. ;  P.  W. 
Kershner,  F.  K. ;  C.  H.  Knowlton,  chaplain;  J.  E.  Crisfield,  F.  R. 
Driesbach,  physicians;  F.  J.  Gerber,  sergeant;  James  Wood,  Mas.  at 
A. ;  William  Howe,  1st  M.  G. ;  Albert  Holbrook,  2d  M.  G. ;  John  Gary, 
sentinel;  George  Fedder,  picket.  Tent  reviews  are  held  the  second 
and  fourth  Tuesday  evenings  of  each  month  at  eight  o'clock  in  their 
large  and  handsomely  furnished  lodge  room  in  the  Dyer  Block. 

Edward  Rowan,  the  author  of  this  sketch,  was  admitted  into  the 
society  April  9,  1895;  elected  record  keeper  of  the  tent  June  9,  1896, 
and  has  been  unanimously  re-elected  each  ensuing  year  until  1902, 
when  the  office  of  commander  was  extended  him. 

P.  of  H. 

Dansville  Grange  No.  178  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  a  farmers'  social 
and  co-operative  fraternity,  was  organized  April  14,  1874,  in  the 
wagon  shop  of  B.  S.  Stone  at  Stone's  Falls,  by  L.  A.  Palmer,  a  gen- 
eral deputy  from  Honeoye  Falls,  appointed  by  the  State  Grange. 
There  were  twenty-five  charter  members  whose  names  follow,  includ- 
ing those  holding  the  first  offices:  B.  F.  Kershner,  worthy  master;  B. 
S.  Stone,  overseer;  H.  A.  Kershner,  lecturer;  R.  K.  Stone,  steward; 
G.  C.  Stone,  assistant  steward;  J.  F.  McCartney,  chaplain;  Fred 
Driesbach,  treasurer;  Henry  Driesbach,  gate  keeper;  Mrs.  Fred 
Driesbach,  ceres;  Mrs.  B.  F.  Kershner,  pomona;  Mrs.  G.  C.  Stone, 
flora;  Miss  Emma  J.  Lemen,  lady  assistant  steward.  The  remaining 
charter  members  were;  J.  B.  Lemen,  J.  H.  McCartney,  William 
Hartman,  Henry  Hartman,  William  Hall,  O.    R.    Stone,    Mrs.    J.    F. 


FRATERNAL  SOCfETIES 


75 


McCartney,  Mrs.  G.  C.  Stone,  Mrs.  Henry  Driesbach,  Mrs.  William 
Hall,  j\[rs.  J.  B.  Lemen,  Mrs.  R.  K.  Stone,  Mrs.  B.  S.  Stone.  The 
executive  committee  was  composed  of  B.  S.  Stone,  Fred  Driesbach 
and  J.  B.  Lemen.  R.  K.  Stone  was  secretary  from  the  time  of  or- 
ganization, excepting  one  term,  until  his  death  December  15,  1898, 
and  since  that  time  Lena  (t.  Stone  has  acceptably  filled  this  office. 

Thirty  of  the  most  progressive  farmers  and  their  wives  constitute 
its  present  membership  with  the  following  officers:  A.  W.  Hawk, 
worthy  master;  Charles  McCurdy,  overseer;  Sadie  Hawk,  lecturer'; 
Henry   Driesbach,    steward;  O.    H.    Lemen,  assistant  steward;  B.  S. 


DANSVILLE   GRANGE   HALL 


Stone,  chaplain;  Louis  C.  Gottschall,  treasurer;  Lena  G.  Stone,  sec- 
retary; Samuel  Alexander,  gate  keeper;  Miss  Rose  Gottschall, 
pomona;  Mrs.  Henry  Driesbach,  flora;  Mrs.  U.  A.  Losey,  ceres; 
Miss  Mabel  McCurdy,  lady  assistant  steward;  B.  S.  Stone,  Henry 
Driesbach,  A.  W.  Hawk,  executive  committee.  Mr.  Stone  has 
served  as  chairman  of  this  committee  since  the  time  of  organization. 
Before  moving  into  the  present  well  equipped  quarters,  the  Grange 
occupied  rooms  in  B.  S.  Stone's  wagon  shop  through  the  courtesy  of 
its  proprietor.  On  Nov.  14,  1878,  the  Hall  was  formally  dedicated, 
appropriate  services  being  conducted  by  the  Worthy  Master  of  the 
State  Grange  William  G.  Wayne,  and  Secretary  A.  W.  Armstrong, 
the  members  afterwards  being  addressed  by  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson,  of 
the  Sanatorium,  The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  was  observed  April 
14,  1899,  the  Grange  being  favored  by  a  most  inspiring  address  from 
the  late  Dr.  S.  G.  Dorr,  then  postmaster  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  the 
first  member  to  join  the  Grange  after  organization. 


76  ORGANIZA  TIONS 

Sept.  23,  1874,  was  held  the  first  Grange  picnic,  being  attended  at 
Stone's  Falls  by  over  2,000  people.  Hon.  T.  A.  Thompson  of  Minne- 
sota, Lecturer  of  the  National  Grange,  was  the  orator  of  the  oc- 
casion. Oct.  21,  1892,  Columbus  Day  was  patriotically  celebrated. 
Jan.  25,  1879,  the  Hall  was  crowded  to  hear  the  late  Hon.  Sidney 
Sweet  talk  of  his  travels  in  Egypt  and  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

The  Grange  has  always  been  glad  to  furnish  its  Hall  for  religious 
purposes  as  well  as  social  gatherings,  and  great  indeed  has  been  the 
moral  enlightenment  and  healthful  enjoyment  for  those  participating 
in  these  ever  memorable  events.  Ideally  located  on  the  summit  of  a 
gradual  elevation,  surrounded  by  beautiful  shade  trees  and  well  kept 
grounds.  Grange  Hall  stands  the  most  imposing  piece  of  architecture 
for  many  miles,  bespeaking  its  noble  purpose  and  the  progressive- 
ness  of  its  members.  Regular  meetings  are  held  at  the  Grange  Hall  the 
second  and  last  Friday  evenings  in  each  month.  The  Grange  is  in- 
corporated, owning  the  Hall  and  three-fourths  of  an  acre  of  land  on 
which  is  also  located  good  sheds  for  horses.  The  Hall  is  well  fur- 
nished and  well  insured. 

For  all  the  valuable  information  contained  in  this  sketch,  we  are 
indebted  to  Mr.  B.  S.  Stone,  whose  generous  bequests  and  zealous 
services  have  aided  largely  in  making  Dansville  Grange  the  pride  of 
the  community  and  a  credit  to  the  county  and  State. 

N.P.  L. 

The  Dansville  Legion  No.  293  of  the  National  Protective  Legion, 
was  organized  August  22,  1899  with  eighteen  charter  members.  The 
purpose  of  the  organization  is  manifested  in  a  co-operative  system  of 
fraternal  and  beneficent  insurance.  The  first  officers  were:  James  H. 
Lindsay,  past  president;  Amariah  Dieter,  president;  Mrs.  Jennie  M. 
Ingraham,  vice  president;  E.  C.  Hulbert,  secretary;  Leonard  K. 
Welch,  treasurer ;  Gordon  Wilson,  chaplain ;  J.  W.  Deagan,  conduc- 
tor; John  White,  inner  doorkeeper:  John  B.  Kruchton,  outside  door 
keeper;  Victor  R.  Hungerford,  James  H.  Lindsay,  Alba  C.  Palmer, 
trustees.  The  present  membership  is  seventy  with  following  officers 
in  charge:  Mrs.  May  Griswold,  past  president;  A.  C.  Palmer,  presi- 
dent; W.  G.  Hungerford,  vice  president;  E.  C.  Hulbert,  secretary 
and  treasurer;  Mrs.  John  White,  chaplain;  Samuel  J.  White,  conduc- 
tor; John  White,  inner  door  keeper;  Lewis  W.  Griswold,  outer  door 
keeper;  Charles  Kinne,  W.  G.  Hungerford,  John  White,  trustees. 
Meetings  are  held  the  second  and  last  Tuesdays  in  each  month  at 
A.  O.  H.  hall. 

Mr.  E.  C.  Hulbert,  the  author  of  this  sketch,  has  been  secretary 
since  organization  and  a  National  Delegate  at  recent  convention. 

P.  H.  C.  No.  339. 

Protective  Home  Circle  No.  339,  was  organized  March  14,  1898, 
with  the  following  officers  who  still  preside :  W.  L.  Pfuntner,  presi- 
dent; Robert  C.  Vaihinger,  treasurer;  Mrs.  J.  C.  VanScoter,  ac- 
countant; James   F.    Dieter,   secretary;  Miss  Anna  Denzer,  chaplain. 

The  purposes  of  the  organization  are  fraternal  and  beneficent. 


FRATERNAL  SOCmriES  77 

M.   W.  of  J}. 

Dansville  Camp  No.  9421  of  the  "Modern  Woodmen  of 
America,"  a  fraternal  society,  was  organized  March  17,  1901. 
Twelve  members  were  chartered  with  the  following  officers: 
William  Welch,  venerable  counsel;  John  C.  Finn,  worthy  ad- 
viser; George  J.  Hubertus,  clerk;  Wesley  Thrall,  banker; 
Michael  Burke,  escort;  Joseph  Kimmel,  watchman. 
The  present  membership  is  fifteen  and  the  officers  for  the 
ensuing  term  are:  W.  J.  Welch,  venerable  counsel;  John  C. 
Finn,  worthy  adviser;  Wesley  Thrall,  excellent  banker;  Pat- 
rick Daley,  escort;  George  J.  Hubertus,  clerk;  Joseph  Kim- 
mel, watchman;  Urban  Hubertus,  sentry;  Dr.  C.  V.  Patchin,  physi- 
cian; Thomas  Ireland,  Peter  Byer,  and  J.  Earl  McCurdy,  managers. 
Meetings  are  held  the  first  and  third  Thursday  in  each  month  at  Camp 
Hall. 

Mr.  George  Hubertus,  who  kindly  furnished  the  above  facts,  has 
been  clerk  since  organization. 

R.  Jl.  C. 

Dansville  Royal  Arch  Chapter  No.  91  was  chartered  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1825.  The  charter  officers  were:  Merritt  Brown, 
high  priest;  Warren  Patchin,  king;  Paul  C.  Cook,  scribe. 
The  Chapter  was  organized  March  31,  1824,  under  a  dispen- 
sation granted  February  21,  1824  by  the  G.  R.  A.  Chapter. 
The  officers  elected  in  addition  to  the  three  above  named 
were:  Timothy  Atwood,  R.  A.  C. ;  Moses  Conn,  C.  of  H. ;  Wm.  Mc- 
Pherson,  P.  S. ;  James  Conn,  M.  of  3d.  V. ;  Anson  Delamater,  M.  of 
2nd  V. ;  N.  Boyden,  M.  of  1st  V.;  Thomas  M.  Bowen,  secretary; 
Samuel  Stillwell,  treasurer-  Henry  Burley,  guard.  The  members 
present  at  that  meeting  in  addition  to  those  named  were  Andrew 
Prindle  and  Jacob  Thorn.  The  Chapter  meets  in  the  Maxwell  Block 
the  second  and  fourth  Tuesdays  of  each  month. 

Following  is  the  list  of  present  officers:  Samuel  F.  Consalus,  E.  H. 
P.  ;  F.  M.  Ferine,  K.  ;  B.  H.  Oberdorf,  S.  ;  J.  T.  McCurdy,  treasurer; 
C.  W.  Woolever,  secretary ;  George  L.  Krein,  C.  of  H. ;  James  Lind- 
say, P.  S. ;  Silas  L.  Keyes,  R.  A.  C. ;  Charles  J.  LaBoyteaux,  M.  of 
3d  V. ;  Frederick  E.  Worden,  M.  of  2d  \. ;  George  W.  Cross,  M.  of 
1st  v.;  S.  L.  Keyes,  tyler. 

IIOYAL  T BMP L Alls. 
Charles  Mills,  the  Grand  Councellor  of  the  Royal  Templars,  a  fra- 
ternal insurance  society,  of  New  York  State,  assisted  by  Deputy 
Grand  Councellor,  C.  D.  Foose,  James  H.  Ward,  and  Warren  Preston, 
organized  a  council  of  Royal  Templars,  Friday  evening,  December 
20,  1901,  in  A.  O.  H.  hall,  with  thirty-six  charter  members.  The 
following  officers  were  elected  and  installed:  Eugene  Hulbert,  S.  C. ; 
Mrs.  Ida  T.  Hoffman,  V.  C. ;  Charles  M.  Kinne,  P.  C. ;  Rev.  W.  H. 
Brown,  chaplain;  Frank  Campbell,  recording  secretary;  Mrs.  Emma 
L.  VanScoter,  financial  secretary;  Mrs.  Jeannette  Lindsay,  treasurer; 
Nathaniel  Price,  herald;  Mrs.  Mary  Kershner,  deputy  herald;  Henry 
O.  Ash,  guard;  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Bower,  sentinel.  At  present  writing 
seventy-three  members  have  been  enrolled.  Regular  meetings  are 
held  second  and  last  Thursdays  in  each  month,  at  A.  O.  H.  hall. 


78 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


I.  O.  O.  F. 

Canaseraga  Lodge  No.  123  I.  O.  O.  F. 
This  Lodge  was  instituted  Nov.  15,  1844,  by 
District  Deputy  Grand  Master  Scott  Lord  of 
Geneseo.  The  charter  members  were  John 
A.  VanDerlip,  William  Hollister,  John  B. 
Smith,  John  C.  Williams,  William  G.  Thomp- 
son and  Peter  S.  Lema.  The  first  initiates 
were  Bleecker  L.  Hovey  and  Benjamin  Brad- 
ley, on  the  night  of  institution.  Dr.  Hovey, 
now  in  Rochester,  is  the  only  living  first 
member.  John  A.  VanDerlip  was  the  first 
Noble  Grand.  The  membership  of  the 
Lodge  during  the  nearly  three  score  years  of 
its  existence  has  included  the  leading  profes- 
sional and  business  men  of  Dansville  and  vicinity  who  have  been  lead- 
ers in  all  local  enterprises  for  the  betterment  of  Dansville  socially, 
intellectually  and  financially.  Two  of  its  members  have  filled  state 
grand  offices,  A.  O.  Bunnell  by  election,  Grand  Master  in  1884-5; 
William  Kramer,  by  appointment  by  Grand  Master  Bunnell,  Grand 
Marshal  for  the  same  term.  In  1850  there  were  eight  lodges  of  the 
order  in  Livingston  district,  but  for  a  long  period  subsequent  to  that 
year  Canaseraga  lodge  was  the  only  survivor.  There  are  now  five 
other  lodges  in  this  district,  one  each  at  Avon,  Mount  Morris,  Gene- 
seo, Springwater,  and  Hemlock.  The  Lodge  has  held  notable  cele- 
brations of  the  anniversary  of  the  order  and  of  the  Lodge,  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  Lodge,  Nov.  15,  1894,  being  specially  signalized 
by  the  presence  of  Grand  Sire  SteblDins.  The  high  value  of  the  order 
to  individual  and  community  life  has  been  practically  exemplified  in 
Dansville.  Canaseraga  Lodge  has  fine  rooms  in  Maxwell  block. 
Meets  every  Friday  night. 

ST.  BOmFACIUS  SOCIETY 

In  the  little  old  parochial  school  building  which  stood  in  the  rear  of 
St.  Mary's  church,  on  March  30,  1852,  was  organized  the  Dansville 
branch  of  St.  Bonifacius  Society,  which  celebrated  its  golden  jubilee  on 
Monday  evening,  June  2,  1902.  Rev.  Father  Alois  Somoggi,  long 
since  gone  to  his  reward,  then  priest  of  the  parish,  was  the  organizer. 
Of  twenty-six  charter  members  only  five  survive — Fritz  Durr,  John 
Schwan,  Anthony  Schwan,  Nicholas  Schubmehl  and  Stephen  Rauber. 
Peter  Schlick,  also  a  charter  member,  who  expected  to  join  in  the 
anniversary  festivities,  died  on  Wednesday  of  the  previous  week. 
The  present  membership  is  seventy-seven,  officered  as  follows:  Frank 
M.  Schlick,  president;  Nicholas  Uhl,  vice-president;  Joseph  Steigler, 
secretary;  Henry  Zaffke,  treasurer;  Nicholas  Johantgen  and  Casper 
Thilges,  color-bearers;  Baldis  Vogt  and  Wendel  Zimmer,  marshals; 
Frank  M.  Schlick,  Henry  Zaffke,  Joseph  Steigler,  John  Blum  and 
Henry  Hubertus,  trustees;  Jacob  H.  Smith,  Jacob  Huver  and  Peter 
Schlick,  finance  committee.  There  have  been  thirty-nine  deaths  in 
the  society  and  $19,000  paid  out  in  benefits  since  organization.  The 
annual  sick  benefits  average  about  f550.     During  the  past  ye^r  about 


80  ORGANIZA  TIONS 

$1,000  has  been  paid  in  death  claims  and  $500  in  sick  benefits,  and 
there  is  about  $5,000  in  the  treasury,  showing  good  financial  con- 
dition. Its  membership  includes  some  of  our  oldest  and  best  business 
men,  and  our  enterprising  young  men.  In  1856  this  society  joined 
the  D.  R.  K.  Central  Verein  (German  Roman  Catholic  Central  Soci- 
ety) of  the  United  States  and  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  this 
state  in  1884.  In  May,  1896,  it  joined  the  Staats  Verband  upon  the 
organization  of  that  society.  The  society  has  been  an  honor  to  the 
village  and  a  great  help  to  its  members  and  their  families  in  time  of 
sorrow  and  need.  To  the  young  men  also  it  has  been  a  guide  and 
help.  In  these  and  many  other  ways  it  has  been  a  valuable  auxiliary 
to  church  and  society. 

The  seventh  annual  convention  of  the  Staats  Verband,  a  federation 
of  the  German  Catholic  church  societies  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
held  in  Dansville  on  Sunday  and  Monday,  June  1  and  2,  was  suc- 
cessful and  profitable  from  every  point  of  view.  The  convention  was 
held  here  upon  the  invitation  of  St.  Bonifacius  Society  of  St.  Mary's 
church  of  Dansville  as  an  act  of  fraternity  and  also  to  emphasize  the 
golden  jubilee  of  St.  Bonifacius.  Nothing  was  left  undone  that  was 
desirable  for  the  reception  and  entertainment  of  the  distinguished 
delegates  who  came  from  every  part  of  the  state. 

The  principal  business  houses  of  Main  street  were  handsomely  dec- 
orated with  red,  white  and  blue,  to  which  the  Roman  Catholics  added 
yellow,  the  papal  color. 

On  Monday,  June  2,  at  1  o'clock  there  was  a  grand  parade  led  by 
Marshal  Baldis  Vogt  and  Assistant  Marshals  Anton  Marx  and  Fred 
Hemmer,  mounted,  the  societies  and  bands  in  the  following  order: 
Bath  Soldiers  Home  Band,  Delegates  to  the  Staats  Verband,  St. 
Wendelinus  Society  of  Perkinsville,  N.  Y.,  Martial  Band,  C.  R.  B. 
A.,  Dansville,  C.  M.  B.  A.,  Dansville,  St.  Bonifacius  Society.  The 
men  were  nicely  uniformed  and  presented  a  fine  appearance.  At  the 
business  meeting  held  after  the  parade  the  following  officers  were 
elected:  Joseph  Mielich,  New  York,  president;  Frank  M.  Schlick, 
Dansville,  1st  vice  president;  Gebhart  Sauter,  Syracuse,  2d  vice 
president;  John  Hoffmayer,  Buffalo,  3d  vice  president;  Valentine  J. 
Riedman,  Brooklyn,  corresponding  and  financial  secretary ;  Carl  May- 
er, Jr.,  New  York,  recording  secretary ;  Virgil  Joseph  Essel,  Utica, 
treasurer;  Louis  J.  Kauffman  and  John  B.  Seiz,  of  New  York  city, 
consultors.  President  Mielich,  who  had  served  so  well,  was  re-elected, 
and  our  own  townsman,  Mr.  Schlick,  was  elected  first  vice  president 
unanimously. 

The  gratifying  success  of  the  jubilee  celebration  was  largely  due  to 
the  able  efforts  of  a  large  corps  of  well  known  business  men  who  are 
members  bf  this  progressive  society  and  who  were  officered  for  the 
occasion  as  follows:  Hochw.  Michael  Krischel,  ehren  praesident; 
ehren  vice  praesident,  Hochw.  Aloysius  Huber;  Frank  M.  Schlick, 
praesident;  Nicolaus  Uhl,  erster  vice  praesident;  John  Blum,  zweiter 
vice  praesident ;  Nicolaus  Schubmehl,  dritter  vice  praesident ;  Henry 
Zafifke,  secretaer;  John  Hubertus,  schatzmeister. 

Mr.  Joseph  Steigler,  who  has  been  a  member  of  the  society  for  nine 
years  and  who  is  now  acting  as  secretary,  kindly  furnished  most  of 
the  information  for  this  sketch. 


Miscellaneous  Societies 


TEMPERANCE 

W.  C.   T.   U. 

A  branch  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  a  national  temperance  society,  was  organized 
in  Dansville  in  August  1881,  by  Miss  Frances  E. 
Willard,  president  of  the  National  Union.  There 
were  thirty  charter  members  and  the  following  served  as  the  first 
officers:  Miss  A.  P.  Adams,  president;  vice-presidents  from  all  the 
churches;  Mrs.  Jane  White,  recording  secretary;  Miss  M.  F.  Bunnell, 
corresponding  secretary ;  Mrs.  D.  W.  Noyes,  treasurer.  The  present 
officers  are  as  follows:  Mrs.  Lillian  F.  Lewis,  president;  Mrs.  A. 
E.  Thurston,  corresponding  secretary ;  Miss  Bessie  Knapp,  record- 
ing secretary;  Mrs.  E.  G.  Tiffany,  treasurer.  Meetings  are  held 
the  first  Tuesday  in  each  month  at  the  homes  of  the  members. 

Mrs.  E.  G.  Tiffany,  who  furnished  the  above  information,  is  a  char- 
ter member  and  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  work  for  twenty 
years. 

LITERARY 

rOUMG  MEJV'S  LITERARY  CLUB 

Thursday,  March  6,  1902,  thirteen  young  men  met  at  the  office 
of  Dr.  F.  W.  Kuhn  to  perfect  arrangements  for  the  organization  of  a 
literary  ckib,  the  leading  feature  of  which  was  to  be  weekly  debates 
on  topics  of  current  interest.  The  names  of  twenty  members  were 
enrolled  the  following  Monday,  and  the  membership  limited  to  that 
number. 

The  names  of  officers  and  other  members  were  as  follows:  James 
Brogan,  president,  F.  W.  Kuhn,  vice-president;  Carl  Ross,  secretary 
and  treasurer;  J.  L.  Wellington,  critic;  Charles  R.  Fedder  and  Ray 
Sandford,  executive  committee;  Alexander  Kenney,  Frank  ZafiEke, 
W.  A.  Hubbard,  F.  H.  Young,  W.  J.  Maloney,  F.  L  Quick,  James 
D.  Kennedy,  Fred  E.  Clark,  Herman  W.  DeLong,  Jr.,  J.  T.  Knap- 
penberg,  Edward  Alexander,  Thomas  Alexander,  Joseph  Thompson, 
H.  A.  Schwingle,  Edward  Murphy. 

In  addition  to  the  debate,  a  short  talk  is  given  at  each  meeting  by 
a  member,  who  is  assigned  a  subject  closely  associated  with  his  every- 
day business. 

Considerable  enthusiasm  has  marked  the  commencement  of  this 
society's  work  and  important  results  are  anticipated. 

Meetings  are  held  each  Monday  evening  in  the  C.  M.  B.  A.  rooms. 

82 


84  ORGANIZA  TIONS 

D.  H.  S.  LITE%/iRY  CLUB 

The  Dansville  High  School  Literary  Club  was  organized  Thursday, 
November  22,  1900,  with  twenty-five  charter  members.  Prof.  E.  J. 
Bonner  was  made  temporary  chairman  and  Carleton  Reynell  and 
Martin  King  were  appointed  tellers  pro  tem.  The  first  officers  of  the 
society  were  as  follows  James  M.  Brogan,  president ;  Fred  E.  Clark, 
vice-president;  Nicholas  H.  Noyes,  secretary;  Joseph  T.  Knappen- 
berg,  treasurer;  George  C.  Kingsley,  teller.  The  present  official  staff 
elected  January  28,  1902,  consists  of  Bayard  H.  Knapp,  president; 
Carl  Hoffman,  vice-president;  Carleton  Reynell,  secretary;  Dorr 
Price,  treasurer;  Charles  W.  Knappenberg,  teller.  Meetings  are  held 
at  the  Dansville  High  School  every  Tuesday  evening  at  7  :30  P.  M., 
during  the  school  year.  The  attention  of  the  members  is  given  almost 
entirely  to  debating,  and  much  talent  is  being  displayed  in  their  in- 
teresting sessions. 

JlLVHJl  LITERMRY  SOCIETY 

The  Alpha  Literary  Society  was  organized  at  the  Dansville  High 
School,  November  26,  1900.  Twenty  young  ladies,  all  students  of 
the  High  School,  were  enrolled  as  members  with  the  following  as 
officers:  Katherine  Smalley,  president;  Mabel  Tenney,  vice-presi- 
dent; Charlotte  Fairchild,  secretary:  Anita  Woodruff,  treasurer; 
Vera  Burkhart,  teller.  The  present  officers  are  Ruth  Brettle,  presi- 
dent; Katherine  Noyes,  vice-president;  Sara  Smalley,  secretary; 
Jennie  Bastian,  treasurer;  Bessie  Woolever,  teller.  Meetings  are 
held  at  the  High  School  every  Thursday  evening  during  the  school 
year. 

The  above  information  was  furnished  by  Miss  Jennie  Bastian,  who 
is  a  charter  member  and  the  present  secretary. 

READING  CIRCLE 

Tuesday,  February  18,  1902,  a  reading  circle  was  organized  at  the 
home  of  Mrs.  William  Benson.  Meetings  are  held  each  Tuesday  at 
the  homes  of  members.  The  membership,  limited  to  ten,  consists  of 
the  following:  Mrs.  William  Benson,  Mrs.  B.  P.  Andrews,  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Beecher,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Readshaw,  Miss  Mary  Shepard,  Miss  Josephine 
Blake,  Miss  Susie  Parker,  Mrs.  Charles  M.  Herrick,  Miss  Aline 
Blackman,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Preston. 

COTERIE 

The  literary  circle  known  as  the  Coterie  was  organized  in  the  fall 
of  1873,  being  planned  by  A.  O.  Bunnell  and  G.  C.  Bragdon,  and  the 
first  meeting  held  Oct.  25,  1873.  The  first  officers  were  George  C. 
Bragdon,  president,  and  Mary  F.  Bunnell,  secretary.  The  member- 
ship is  now  limited  to  twenty.  The  following  officers  have  been 
elected  for  the  ensuing  year:  Mrs.  E.  E.  Sweet,  president;  W.  J. 
Beecher,  vice-president;  Miss  Josephine  Blake,  secretary. 

A  more  extended  sketch  of  this  organization  will  be  found  under 
chapter  entitled  "Certain  Institutions." 


M ISC  ELLA  NEO  US  SOCLE  TIES 


85 


PATRIOTIC 


G.  A.  R. 

Among  the  many  rural  Posts  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  in  this  State,  there  are  but  few  which 
equal  Seth  N.  Hedges  Post,  No.  216,  of  Dansville, 
not  alone  in  members  but  in  its  efficiency  as  an 
agent  for  good  in  the  community,  and  few  Posts  have 
received  more  favors  from  the  National  and  State 
Department  Commanders  in  the  past.  Its  organiza- 
tion dates  from  the  16th  of  May,  1881,  when  a  few 
veteran  soldiers  met  at  the  office  of  Major  Seth  N. 
Hedges,  then  a  practicing  lawyer  in  Dansville.  At 
that  meeting  there  were  present  the  following  veteran 
(soldiers:  Seth  N.  Hedges,  Mark  J.  Bunnell,  J.  J. 
Bailey,  Oscar  Woodruff,  William  Kramer,  Charles 
Sutfin,  Samuel  Allen,  Jacob  J.  Gilder,  Edward  Kelly 
and  Conrad  Kramer.  After  the  usual  preliminaries 
a  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  was  organized,  and  it  received  the  name  of 
Barton  Post,  No.  216,  in  honor  of  a  deceased  relative  of  Clara  Barton 
who  won  fame  as  a  nurse  during  the  war  and  afterwards  as  the  first 
president  of  the  Red  Cross  Society  of  the  world.  She  was  then  living 
in  Dansville  and  took  an  active  interest  in  affairs  with  which  the  vet- 
erans were  connected.  The  officers  elected  at  the  first  meeting  were 
as  follows:  Seth  N.  Hedges,  commander;  Jacob  J.  Gilder,  senior 
vice  commander;  Edward  Kelly,  junior  vice  commander;  Oscar 
Woodruff,  surgeon;    J.  J.    BaiJey,    quartermaster;    Mark  J.    Bunnell, 


GROUP  or  G.  A.  R.  VETERANS   TAKEN   SOON  AFTER  THE   OR.GANIZATION   OF  THIS   POST 


ch  aplain ;  William  Kramer,  officer  of  the  day ;  Conrad  Kramer,  officer 
of  the  guard;  Horace  Wing,  sergeant  major;  Samuel  Allen,  quarter- 
master sergeant.  The  officers  and  comrades  were  immediately  mus- 
tered and  installed  by  Comrade  L.  W.  Defreest  of  Naples,  assisted  by 
a  staff  sent  to  Dansville  for  that  purpose  by  the  Department  Com- 
mander. Charles  Sutfin  was  appointed  adjutant  by  Commander 
Hedges.      Immediately   upon    being  organized   Commander  Hedges 


86 


ORGANIZA  TIONS 


instituted  vigorous  measures  for  recruiting  members,  and  in  a  short 
time  they  began  to  come  in  rapidly.  At  the  fourth  meeting  of  the 
Post  the  names  of  M.  B.  Hotaling,  Horace  M.  Herrick,  Dennis  Rowan 
and  M.  A.  Stearns  were  proposed  for  membership  and  accepted.  The 
first  three  are  still  active  members  of  the  Post.  At  nearly  every  sub- 
sequent meeting  the  names  of  veteran  soldiers  were  presented  for 
membership,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  the  membership 
had  reached  one  hundred. 

On  the  27th  of  August,  1881,  Commander  Hedges  died  after  an 
illness  of  several  weeks.  His  loss  was  sorely  felt  by  the  members  of 
the  Post,  for  in  every  matter  relating  to  the  good  of  the  order  his 
counsel  and  advice  were  sought  and  accepted,  and  his  death  left  for  a 
time  a  void  that  was  not  easily  filled.  At  the  next  regular  meeting 
Senior  Vice  Commander  Jacob  J.  Gilder  was  elected  Commander  to 
fill  the  vacancy,  and  he  served  until  the  meeting  in  January  following. 


SETH   N.   HEDGES   POST   G.  A.  R.   ON    PARADE 


On  the  27th  day  of  August,  1882,  a  suggestion  was  made  that  the 
name  of  the  Post  be  changed  from  Barton  Post  to  Seth  N.  Hedges 
Post,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  Clara  Barton  and 
secure  her  approval  of  the  change.  This  she  readily  gave  and  the 
Post  at  once  assumed  the  name  of  the  first  commander. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Post  the  following  persons  have  held 
the  office  of  Commander:  Seth  N.  Hedges,  May  16,  1881,  to  August 
27,  1881;  Jacob  J.  Gilder,  Sept.  6,  1881,  to  Jan.  3,  1882;  Charles  Sut- 
fin,  1882,  1884,  1891,  1892,  Jan.  10,  1893  to  April  16,  1893;  M.  A. 
Stearns,  Jan.  9,  1883  to  May  8,  1883;  A.  W.  Fielder,  May  8,  1883  to 
Jan.  1,  1884;  William  Kramer,  1885,  1886,  1887,  1896;  Oscar  Wood- 
ruff, 1888,  1889;  H.  A.  Fairchild,  1890;  J.  H.  Baker,  June  13,  1893, 
1894,  1900;  M.  J.  Bunnell,  1895;  Samuel  Allen,  1897,  1898;  M.  E. 
Plillman,  1899. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SOCIETIES  87 

The  following  comrades  have  held  the  office  of  Senior  Vice  Com- 
mander: J.  J.  Gilder,  1881;  Horace  Wing,  18.S2,  1887,  1889,  1890, 
1891,  1892,  1893,  1896,  1898,  1899;  A.  W.  Fielder,  1883;  George  C. 
Stone,  1884;  J.  H.  Baker,  1885;  R.  Cranmer,  1886;  H.  A.  Fairchild, 
1888;  C.  P.  Squires,  1894,  1895;  M.  E.  Hillman,  1S97;  A.  M.  Plimp- 
ton, 1900. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Post  are :  Oscar  Woodrufif,  commander; 
A.  M.  Plimpton,  senior  vice  commander;  Charles  McLaughlin,  jun- 
ior vice  commander;  J.  J.  Bailey,  quartermaster;  H.  A.  Fairchild, 
adjutant;  Geo.  C.  Stone,  surgeon;  J.  H.  Baker,  chaplain;  Wm.  Kra- 
mer, officer  of  the  day;  Wm.  Kidd,  officer  of  the  guard;  Samuel 
Allen,  quartermaster  sergeant;  Conrad  Kramer  sergeant  major. 

The  death  of  Commander  Sutfin  in  1893  was  another  serious  loss  to 
the  Post.  He  was  ever  zealous  in  good  work  and  his  interest  in  the 
Post  was  manifested  on  every  possible  occasion. 

The  meetings  of  the  Post  are  held  on  the  second  Tuesday  evening 
of  each  month  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  hall  in  the  Maxwell  Block.  It  has 
borne  upon  its  rolls  the  names  of  210  veterans  and  its  present  member- 
ship is  126.  The  most  harmonious  relations  have  always  existed 
among  the  members,  political  or  sectarian  discussions  have  never 
been  allowed,  and  its  standing  in  the  community  as  well  as  in  Grand 
Army  circles  in  the  State  speak  well  for  its  officers  and  members. 
It  has  a  small  amount  of  money  in  its  treasury  and  during  the  more 
than  twenty  years  of  its  existence  it  has  expended  approximately 
$5,000  for  the  relief  of  indigent  soldiers  and  sailors,  their  widows  and 
orphans. 

The  author  of  this  interesting  history  of  the  "boys  in  blue,"  is  Mr. 
Oscar  Woodruff,  who  has  served  three  terms  as  commander  of  the  Post 
and  eleven  terms  as  Adjutant. 

SOm  OF  VETERJtMS 

Thirteen  young  men  patriotically   inclined,    met   in 


IIJIIIMAjjJjmiaaill  the  editorial  rooms  of  the  Dansville  Express,  Monday, 
June  1,  1885  and  organized  a  branch  of  the  Sons  of 
Veterans.  The  following  officers  were  mustered  in 
the  ensuing  Thursday:  Wiley  Newton,  commander; 
Frank  Scheely,  senior  vice  commander;  Frank  J.  Al- 
verson,  junior  vice  commander;  Lester  Brown,  quarter 
master;  Michael  Rowan,  surgeon;  L.  E.  Tiffany, 
chaplain ;  George  Bunnell,  officer  of  the  day ;  Chauncey 
Slayton,  officer  of  the  guard;  Frank  Brown,  adjutant; 
A.  L.  Harter,  inside  sentinel;  Hub  McWhorter,  Geo. 
R.  Brown,  A.  L.  Harter,  council  of  administration. 

The  Mark  J.  Bunnel  Post,  No.  36,  Sons  of  Veterans, 
was  changed  to  conform  with  the  camp  system,  with 
impressive  ceremony,  December  18,  1890,  when  the 
following   officers   were    installed:     W.    S.    Oberdorf, 

commander;    Edward  T.  Fairchild,  senior  vice  commander;  Geo.  R. 

Brown,  junior  vice  commander;  N.    W.    Uhl,    quartermaster;  A.    L. 

VanValkenburg,  officer  of  the  day ;    Hugh    Campbell,    officer   of   the 

guard;  M.  C.  Harter,  surgeon;  H.  McWhorter,  chaplain. 


88  ORGANIZA  TIONS 

W.  S.  Oberdorf  was  elected  Division  Commander  for  the  State  of 
New  York,  June  1892,  serving  until  June  1893. 

The  present  officers  are  as  follows :  H.  McWhorter,  captain;  W.  S. 
Oberdorf,  1st  lieutenant;  J.  W.  Ullyette,  2d  lieutenant;  C.  M.  Kinne, 
chaplain;  George  R.  Brown,  1st  sergeant;  N.  W.  Uhl,  quartermaster 
sergeant ;  A.  L.  VanValkenburg,  officer  of  the  day ;  C.  B.  Kramer, 
corporal;  R.  J.  Cranmer,  camp  guard;  A.  L.  VanValkenburg,  C.  M. 
Kinne,  P.  M.  Fairchild,   camp  council. 

Meetings  are  held  the  second  Tuesday  in  each  month  at  Village 
Hall. 

N.  W.  Uhl,  who  supplied  the  above  information,  has  been  a  member 
fourteen  years,  and  during  that  time  has  held  the  following  offices:  1st 
lieutenant,  2d  lieutenant,  1st  sergeant,  quartermaster  sergeant  and 
delegate,  attending  six  State  Encampments. 

MUSICAL 


p.  J.  OBEB.DORF 


EAJILY  BJtNTiS 

Mr.  P.  J.  Oberdorf,  for  many  years  promin- 
ently identified  with  various  musical  or- 
ganizations in  Dansville  and  who  has  fol- 
lowed music  as  a  profession  at  Rochester,  N. 
Y.,  since  leaving  this  village,  has  kindly  fur- 
nished the  following  sketch  of  the  bands 
which  existed  here  during  the  early  days: 

"The  first  musical  organization  that  I  re- 
member, was  the  Canaseraga  Cornet  Band, 
organized  in  the  early  forties  with  Jack 
Brown  as  leader,  assisted  by  M.  T.  Stout 
and  John  Brown,  all  of  whom  were  consid- 
ered excellent  musicians  at  that  time.  The 
personnel  of  the  band,  as  I  remember  it,  was  Jack  Brown,  Charles 
Goodno,  Edward  Goodno,  Joseph  Welch,  John  Sheppard,  John  Brown, 
John  Hood,  Lansing  Hall,  Edward  Tiffany,  Dick  Buck,  M.  T.  Stout, 
Charles  Dibble,  Lucius  Brown,  James  Newton,  Emerson  Rogers. 
The  band  had  a  reputation  throughout  this  part  of  the  State  that  was 
second  to  none.  They  were  attached  to  the  Canaseraga  Light  In- 
fantry and  escorted  this  organization  wherever  they  went.  About 
1857  or  1858,  they  engaged  as  leader,  Alexander  Scott,  the  founder  of 
Scott's  band  of  Rochester,  who  was  at  that  time  leader  of  the  Great 
Western  Band  of  Chicago.  With  Captain  Scott  as  leader  they  were 
kept  busy  filling  important  engagements  in  many  parts  of  this  State 
and  Canada.  In  1861,  when  the  13th  N.  Y.  Infantry  was  raised  to 
go  to  the  front,  the  band  in  part  enlisted  with  the  regiment.  Those 
enlisting  were:  Alexander  Scott,  Edward  Tiffany,  Edward  Goodno, 
James  Scott,  Theodore  Wood,  Robert  Weisman,  P.  J.  Oberdorf,  Dick 
Buck,  Charles  Dibble,  Dwight  Hess^  Lucius  Brown,  James  Newton. 
The  band  was  sworn  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  for  three 
months,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  they  returned   home  never 


MISCELLANEOUS   SOCIETIES  89 

again  to  be  together  as  a  band  of  the  original  members.  John  Brown, 
M.  T.  Stout,  Charles  and  Edward  Goodno,  Lucius  Hrown,  Lansing 
Hall,  Joseph  Welch,  John  Hood,  John  Sheppard,  and  Alexander 
Scott  are  known  to  be  dead. 

A  band  of  sixteen  players  called  the  Dansville  Cornet  band  was  or- 
ganized in  January,  1867,  but  only  living  a  short  time. 

In  May,  1869,  A.  W.  Fielder,  by  the  addition  of  new  material  to  the 
few  remaining  members  of  the  old  Canaseraga  Cornet  band,  succeeded 
in  bringing  forth  an  organization  of  musicians  which  won  great  favor 
at  home  and  abroad.  The  personnel  of  this  band  was  as  follows:  A. 
W.  Fielder,  A.  J.  Brown,  Charles  Goodno,  C.  C.  Sedgwick,  Henry 
Preston,  George  Croll,  William  Dick,  Archie  Lemen,  Frank  Bartz, 
Albert  Gilman,  G.  Hood,  Morgan  Price,  F.  Fenstermacher,  M.  T. 
Stout,  George  Wheaton,  Edward  Tiffany,  William  Miller,  Lucius 
Brown,  John  Reese,  William  Cogswell.  During  the  time  that  Fielder's 
band  was  in  existence,  there  was  an  effort  made  to  reorganize  the  old 
Canaseraga  Cornet  Band  and  M.  C.  Sexton,  an  eminent  musician  from 
Bath,  N.  Y.,  was  engaged  as  leader  but  the  results  were  not  what 
were  anticipated. 

The  next  band  to  be  organized  in  Dansville  was  under  the  direction 
of  P.  J.  Oberdorf  and  commenced  its  work  in  1875.  The  members 
were  Fred  Mc Arthur,  Frank  Adams,  Nicholas  Hubertus,  Joseph 
Yochum,  Clifford  Artman,  Daniel  Burns,  Joseph  W.  Burgess,  George 
Wheaton,  John  Palmer,  P.  J.  Oberdorf,  M.  T.  Stout,  Herman 
Wheaton,  Charles  Welch,  William  Prussia.  This  band  arrived  at 
quite  a  degree  of  proficiency  and  during  the  presidential  campaign 
preceding  the  election  of  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  were  kept  especially 
busy,  their  services  being  in  demand  by  the  Republican,  Democrat, 
and  Greenback  parties.  At  a  band  contest  at  Geneseo  the  first  prize 
was  awarded  this  band.  They  were  also  the  first  to  introduce  the 
weekly  open  air  concerts  which  have  since  proved  such  an  enjoyable 
feature  of  the  summer  season  in  Dansville.  This  brings  us  to  the 
year  1884  since  which  time  the  writer  has  not  been  identified  with  the 
musical  interests  of  Dansville." 

Nicholas  Hubertus  started  a  band  in  1882  which  played  inter- 
mittently for  about  fourteen  years.  Among  the  members  during  the 
first  few  years  were  the  following:  Samuel  Consalus,  George  Til- 
lotson,  Nicholas  Hubertus,  Eugene  Walters,  Daniel  Burns,  Jacob 
Smith,  John  Sparks,  Fay  Rose,  Jacob  Huver,  George  Wheaton, 
Joseph  Stiegler,  Michael  Carmody,  M.  T.  Stout,  Frank  Mehlenbacher, 
John  Yochum,  Leo  Hubertus,  D.  Swift,  Albert  Sweet,  P.  J.  Coleman, 
David  Sweet.  For  a  year  or  two  the  reorganized  Fielder  band  and 
the  Hubertus  band  played  in  opposition  to  each  other. 

The  Breeze  Piccolo  Band,  organized  in  1886,  by  Joseph  W. 
Burgess  who  became  both  instructor  and  sponsor,  consisted  of  sixteen 
juveniles  ranging  in  age  from  ten  to  fourteen  years.  Drums  and  pic- 
colos with  an  occasional  triangle  were  the  only  instruments.  During 
tlie  three  years  before  this  band  outgrew  itself  by  losing  its  juvenile 
character,  the  following  members  participated:  H.  B.  Hall,  William 
Boyd,  Harry  Slate,  Carl  Stephan,  Claud  Stephan,  Henry  Toles,  Henry 
Hubertus,  James  Bailey,  Henry  Veith,  Charles  Gilder,  George  Lind- 
say,   Robert   Dyer,    Dwight   Bailey,   William   Miller,   Samuel   Allen, 


§0  ORGANIZA  TIONi 

Irving  Hall.  The  uniqueness  and  excellence  of  this  aggregation  of 
musically-inclined  youths,  won  great  favor  at  home  and  considerable 
renown  throughout  all  of  New  York  state.  Many  flattering  requests 
for  their  services  were  tendered  them  but  the  extreme  youth  of  the 
musicians  prevented  their  filling  any  but  nearby  engagements. 

THE  CITIZENS  BJINB 

The  Citizens  band  of  Dansville  was  or- 
ganized November  17,  1896,  with  twenty- 
four  charter  members  as  follows:  Edwin 
S.  Whitehead,  Pearl  H.  Cole,  E.  G.  Weid- 
man,  Fred  E.  Redmond,  Charles  Gilder,  J. 
L.  Wellington,  George  Whitehead,  H.  C. 
Folts,  H.  B.  Hall,  J.  A.  Bailey,  Will  H. 
Fedder,  Carl  B.  Kramer,  C.  M.  Pierce,  S. 
E.  Wright,  W.  A.  Smelcer,  J.  M.  Snyder, 
Charles  E.  Merrill,  George  L.  Hammond, 
Herbert  A.  Schwingle,  W.  S.  Boyd,  Daniel 
Fenstermacher,  James  F.  Dieter,  Irving 
Hall,  and  vSireno  F.  Adams.  J.  L.  Wel- 
lington, H.  B.  Hall  and  Sireno  Adams, 
MR.  ALONzo  jENKs  ^^^^  electcd  prcsidcnt,  vice-president,  and 

secretary  and  treasurer,  respectively.  J.  A.  Hill  was  instructor  for 
two  years  and  Leo  Hubertus  was  instructor  for  the  succeeding  winter. 
Five  hundred  dollars  was  raised  almost  immediately  among  the  citi- 
zens toward  procuring  the  necessary  equipment.  Instruments  were 
purchased  of  A.  L.  VanValkenburg  and  uniforms  of  Wm.  Kramer  & 
Son.  The  first  public  appearance  was  on  May  30,  1897,  when  the  band 
accompanied  the  G.  A.  R.  veterans  to  Greenmount  Cemetery.  The 
first  out  of  town  engagement  was  to  accompany  the  Rescue  Hook  & 
Ladder  Co.  of  Bath  to  Hammondsport,  N.  Y.  The  band  has  since 
filled  many  important  engagements  at  Buffalo,  Rochester,  Lima, 
LeRoy,  Batavia  and  other  places,  creditably  conducting  themselves 
on  each  occasion.  A  local  talent  circus  was  held  on  the  public  square 
in  June,  1897,  to  replenish  the  treasury  of  the  organization,  and 
proved  unusually  successful.  Mr.  George  Whitehead,  now  with 
Dozenbach's  Band  of  Rochester,  was  leader  during  the  seasons 
of  1899  and  1900,  and  the  band  rapidly  improved  under  his  efficient 
leadership.  Mr.  Alonzo  Jenks  took  charge  of  the  band  in  May,  1901, 
and  by  painstaking  effort  and  natural  leadership  has  brought  the  or- 
ganization to  a  degree  of  perfection  that  has  created  much  favorable 
comment  at  home  and  abroad.  Mr.  Jenks  has  had  a  wide  experience 
in  various  bands  and  orchestras  in  Western  New  York  also  in  New 
York  City  orchestras.  He  is  a  pupil  of  LaProne  Merriman,  Mus. 
Dr.  of  Hornellsville,  and  of  Herr  Werner,  a  noted  flutist  of  New 
York.  As  a  soloist  on  the  flute  and  piccolo,  Mr.  Jenks' s  name  on  any 
program  is  a  guarantee  of  pleasing  entertainment. 

During  the  past  season  the  following  members  have  participated : 
Edwin  S.  Whitehead,  Willard  Morris,  Charles  Maybee,  Pearl  H.  Cole, 
Fred  E.  Redmond,  H.  C.  Folts,  J.  J.  Rouse,  Robert  Foster,  H.  B. 
Hall,  Niles  Patterson,  George  Kramer,  Charles  Simons,  Joe  Werdein, 
Herman  DeLong,  Jr.,  George  Whitehead,  Willis  Ellsworth,  Daniel 
Fenstermacher,   J.    F.   Dieter,  Samuel  Allen,  Jr.,  and  F.  E.  Sprague. 


JlffSCJ-LLA  NEO  US  SOCIE  TIES 


91 


HJimVILLE  OliCHESTRJl 

In  answer  to  the  popular  demand,  an  orchestra  was  organized  dur- 
ing the  fall  of  1901,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  music  at  receptions 
and  at  the  theatre.  So  gratifying  were  the  results  of  this  combination 
of  excellent  talent  that  neighboring  cities  and  villages  sought  the 
services  of  this  orchestra,  and  engagements  were  repeatedly  filled  at 
Hornellsville,  Geneseo,  Mt.  Morris,  Canaseraga,  Nunda,  Craig  Colony, 
Wayland,  and  the  Jackson  Sanatorium.  The  players  and  their  instru- 
ments were  as  follows:  Alonzo  Jenks,  (leader),  flute;  Willard  Morris, 
violin;  George  Kramer,  piano;  Edwin  Whitehead,  cornet;  Charles 
iMaybe,  clarinet;    Carl  ]\Ierriman,  cello  and  drums. 

RECREATION 

D.  H.  S.  BJISE  BJILL  CLUB 

The  Dansville  High  School  Base  Ball  Team  for  the  year  1901  was 
luider  the  management  of  James  M.  Brogan,  captained  by  Alexander 
L.  Kenney,  with  Fred  E.  Clark  as  substitute.  The  team  won  nine 
out  of  eleven  games  played  during  the  season;  many  of  the  victories 
being  gained  against  great  odds,  which  reflects  most  favorably  on  the 


D.  H.  S.   BASEBALL  TEAM   OF    1901 


skill  of  the  players.  The  members  of  the  team  were  as  follows: 
Charles  H.  Nichols,  catcher;  Bernard  McNeil,  pitcher  and  third  base; 
Fred  E.  Clark,  first  base;  John  Berman,  second  base;  Alexander  Ken- 
ney, third  base  and  pitcher;  James  D.  Kennedy,  short  stop;  Irving 
Marble,  right  field;  Frank  Zaffke,  center  field;  Nicholas  Noyes,  left 
field:  Ralph  Hyde,  substitute. 


D.  H.  S.  FOOTBALL  TEAM  OF  1900 


D.  H.  S.  FOOTBALL  TEAM  OF  1899 


MISL  'RLLANEO  US  SOC  III  TIES 


93 


D.  H.  S.  FOOT  BALL  CLUBS 

The  High  School  of  Dansville  during  the  years  '98- '99  and  1900, 
was  the  proud  possessor  of  a  most  efficient  team  of  foot  ball  players, 
meeting  on  the  gridiron  many  strong  opponents  who  almost  invari- 
ably succumbed  to  the  superior  ability  of  the  D.  H.  S.  F.  B.  C.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1898,  out  of  seven  games  played,  only  two  were  lost.  The 
team  of  '99  scored  144  points,  including  twenty-six  touchdowns,  to 
their  opponents  twenty-five  points.  Only  two  out  of  the  seven  games 
played  during  1900  were  lost  by  the  home  team — a  remarkable  record 
considering  the  previous  records  of  their  opponents. 

The  line  up  for  the  three  years  was  as  follows : 

98  99  1900 

Centre F.  Grant F.  Grant F.  Clark 

Left  Guard C.  Ross.' C.  Ross C.  Ross 

Right  Guard F.  Snyder F.  Snyder J.  Sanford 

Left   Tackle J.Kennedy J.Kennedy R.Hyde 

Right  Tackle O.  Smalley O.  Smalley O.    Smalley 

Left  End N.  Noyes N.  Noyes N.  Noyes 

Right  End E.  Whitehead E.  Whitehead.  .E.    Whitehead 

Quarter    Back F.    Bastian F.  Bastian J.    Kennedy 

Left  Half  Back T.  Alexander T.  Alexander.  .  .T.   Alexander 

Right  Half  Back.  .A.  Kenney A.  Kenney A.  Kenney 

Full    Back F.  Zaffke F.  Zaffke F.    Zaffke 

Substitute J.  Noyes C.  Nichols 

Substitute F.  Lemen L  Marble 

Captain F.  Grant F.  Grant F.  Zaffke 

Manager F.  B.  Snyder H.  W.  DeLong,  Jr. 

GUN  CLUB 

The  Dansville  Gun  Club  was  organized  January  12,  1898,  at  the  of- 
fice of  P.  Hoffman  with  twenty-five  charter  members.  The  first  of- 
ficers were:  James  Bryant,  president;  Herbert  Miller,  vice  president; 


DANSVILLE  GUN  CLUB  SHOOTING  GROUNDS 

P.    H.    Willey,    secretary   and  treasurer;  N.  Tompkins,  captain;  J.  C. 
Folts,  J.  A.  Bailey,  Daniel  Fenstermacher,  directors.    The  present  of- 


94 


ORGAN IZ A  TIONS 


ficers  are :  H.  J.  Miller,  president ;  F.  D.  Knowlton,  vice  president ; 
Norman  Tompkins,  secretary;  C.  J.  LaBoyteaux,  treasurer;  H.  D. 
Rail,    captain;  Joseph  Ott,   J.    C.    Folts,    Charles  Eschrich,  trustees. 

Meetings  are  held  every  month.  Practice  shoots  are  enjoyed  at 
regular  intervals  while  friendly  contests  with  other  clubs  are  of  fre- 
quent occurrence  and  always  add  credit  to  the  skill  of  members  of  the 
D.  G.  C.  Near  the  Dansville  Paper  Mill  the  club  has  a  fine  gallery 
and  equipment  for  wing  shooting.  The  club  anticipates  stocking 
the  covers  in  this  vicinity  with  imported  quail. 

One  of  the  several  predecessors  of  the  present  Gun  Club  and  proba- 
bly the  most  important  of  the  many  of  years  past,  was  the  "Dansville 
Sportsmen's  Association,"  organized  May  7,  1875.  There  were  fifteen 
charter  members  with  the  following  officers:  Henry  J.  Faulkner, 
president ;  John  Hyland,  vice  president ;  F.  J.  Robbins,  secretary  and 
treasurer.  The  association  has  a  recorded  existence  of  only  six  years, 
the  name  of  B.  H.  Oberdorf,  secretary,  being  attached  to  the  last  in- 
sertion  in  the  record   book. 

BRJIE  BUliN  GOLF  CLUB 

The  "Brae  Burn  Links"  were  established  in  the  Spring  of  1900  by 
the  Jackson  Sanatorium  in  its  corporate  capacity.  This  beautiful 
golfing  ground  is  located  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  village,  near 
the  Dansville  paper-mill.  Exceptionally  well  adapted  for  the  purpose, 
with  its  many  natural  hazards,  good  shade  and  fine  club-house,  these 
links  are  sure  to  please  the  most  enthusiastic  devotee  of  the  sport. 


BRAE   BURN   LINKS   GOLF   CLUB   HOUSE 


Tournaments  are  held  at  regular  intervals  and  have  brought  forth  a 
number  of  fine  scores,  which  have  fully  demonstrated  the  expertness 
of  local  players.  Dr.  John  W.  Craig  of  the  Sanatorium  medical  staff 
won  the  first  cup,  which  was  offered  by  guests  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  B. 
Talcott.     At  a  meeting  of  the  golf  enthusiasts,  held  Monday  evening 


MISCELLANEOUS  SOCIET/ES  95 

March  7,  1902,  it  was  decided  to  organize  and  incorporate  the  Brae 
Burn  Golf  Club  of  Dansville,  N.  Y.  The  following  were  named  as  in- 
corporators: Dr.  James  H.  Jackson,  Dr.  Walter  E.  Gregory,  Dr.  J. 
Arthur  Jackson,  Dr.  James  E.  Crisfield,  Bernard  H.  Oberdorf,  Charles 
H.  Rowe,  Jansen  Noyes.  Charles  H.  Rowe  was  given  the  authority 
to  take  necessary  steps  for  incorporating  the  organization  under  the 
laws  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

We  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Walter  E.  Gregory  for  the  information 
herein  contained. 

^^ 

UNIONS 

G.  C.  N.  U. 

Dansville  Branch  of  Granite  Cutters'  National  Union  was  organized 
September  1,  1899.  The  purpose  of  the  Union  is  to  advance  the  inter- 
ests of  the  members  by  fraternal,  social,  and  benelicial  methods,  and 
by  encouraging  greater  skill  in  their  particular  craft.  The  first  offi- 
cers were:  Patrick  Daly,  president;  George  Morgan,  vice  president; 
Albert  Marx,  secretary;  George  Burrell,  shop  steward.  There  are 
thirty  members  at  present  and  a  large  fund   in  the   treasury. 

The  present  ofificers  are:  George  Burrell,  president;  Patrick  Daly, 
vice  president;  Charles  Baird,  secretary ;  Ernest  Freiberg,  treasurer; 
Charles  Kilburn,  shop  steward. 

Meetings  are  held  the  third  Thursdays  in  each  month  at  K.  O.  T. 
M.  hall. 

Charles  Baird,  who  is  the  authority  for  the  above  statements,  has 
been  a  member  of  the  National  Union  for  eleven  years,  and  has  served 
many  different  branches  as  secretary. 

C.  M.  N.  U.  NO.  1/9. 

Branch  No.  119,  of  the  Cigar  Makers'  National  Union,  was  organ- 
ized at  Cohocton,  N.  Y.  in  1881,  and  transferred  to  Dansville  in  1886. 
The  following  named  members  and  officers  constitute  this  Branch: 
Matt  Cook,  president;  J.  A.  Wirth,  secretary  and  treasurer;  Matt 
Cook,  Frank  Schwan,  Charles  Simons,  John  Pruner,  J.  N.  Stadler, 
J.  J.  Yochum  and  William  F.  Vieth,  finance  committee. 

J.  A.  Wirth,  who  supplied  the  above  information,  has  been  a  mem- 
ber seven  years  and  secretary  since  1899. 

D.  6hM.  S.  ^h  P-  U.  NO.  70. 

Dansville  and  Mt.  Morris,  Bricklayers  and  Plasterers  Union  No.  70, 
was  organized  at  Mt.  Morris,  N.  Y.  in  1890.  Patrick  Morgan  of 
Dansville,  N.  Y.,  acted  as  president  the  first  nine  years.  There  are 
twenty-three  active  members  at  present,  with  following  officers: 
George  Hulbert,  president ;  James  Gerry,  corresponding  secretary  and 
treasurer,  both  of  Mt.  Morris,  N.  Y.  The  Dansville  members  are 
John  Middleton,  James  Welch  and  Peter  Sauerbier. 

John  Middleton,  who  supplied  the  above  information,  has  been  a 
member  since  its  organization. 


J     Local    Industries 


TKe  Jackson  Sanatorium 

This  Institution  has  been  for  forty-four  years 
one  of  the  leading  features  in  the  life,  both  busi- 
ness and  social,  of  Dansville.  Space  does  not  per- 
mit giving  in  extended  form  a  history  of  the 
%;M  growth,  development  and  work  of  this  establish- 
ment, hence  rather  a  sketchy,  or  outline,  state- 
ment of  the  facts  will  be  attempted. 

The  history  of  the  Institution  dates  from  the 
year  1852,  when  Nathaniel  Bingham,  who  was 
more  or  less  of  an  invalid  and  who  became  interested  in  the  growing 
Water  Cure  practice,  but  lately  introduced  from  Germany,  thought  it 
would  be  a  good  idea  to  have  a  little  Water  Cure  at  Dansville.  These 
Institutions  were  sta'rting  up  all  through  the  country  and  were  very 
successful  in  the  cure  of  chronic  diseases  and  were  attracting  a  great 
deal  of  attention,  and  as  they  were  Water  Cures  they  were  founded  in 
proximity  to  some  noted  spring.  The  spring  on  the  east  hillside, 
now  known  as  the  All-Healing  Spring,  which  burst  out  one  night, 
years  ago,  carrying  away  rocks  and  trees  and  earth,  and  which  has 
been  running  ever  since,  was  thought  to  possess  curative  qualities  of 
value,  which  was  true. 

Mr.  Bingham  associated  with  himself  Mr.  Lyman  Granger,  and  the 
Institution  was  completed  in  its  first  form  and  ready  for  occupancy  in 
1853.  Meantime  Mr.  Bingham's  health  continued  to  fail;  Mr.  Gran- 
ger thought  he  would  withdraw  also  from  the  enterprise  so  they  both 
sold  their  interests  to  Abraham  Pennell,  at  that  time  a  resident  of 
Richmond,  Ontario  Co.,  who  had  a  son-in-law  (Dr.  Stevens)  who  was 
anxious  to  establish  in  the  Water  Cure  practice.  Dr.  Stevens  opened 
the  Institution  but  carried  it  on  for  only  a  short  time.  The  building 
was  closed  then  for  a  year  when  a  Dr.  Blackall,  a  physician  of  New 
York  City,  assumed  charge  and  carried  the  Cure  on  for  some  time. 
Not  succeeding  to  his  desire,  he  forsook  the  enterprise  and  nothing 
more  was  done  until  the  year  1858  when  Dr.  James  Caleb  Jackson, 
who  had  been  physician  in  a  similar  Institution  in  Glen  Haven,  Cay- 
uga county,  N.  Y.,  and  who  had  been  induced  by  Mr.  Pennell  to  visit 
Dansville  and  look  over  the  property  in  the  hope  that  he  might,  by 
reason  of  his  extensive  acquaintance  with  water  cure  people,  find  some 
one  to  purchase  the  same,  was  so  attracted  by  the  character  of  the 
spring  and  the  wonderful  beauty  of  the  situation  and  the  possibilities 
for  the  future,  that  he  entered  into  an  arrangement  to  lease  the  prop- 
erty for  three  years,  with  the  privilege  of  buying  at  a  stipulated  sum 
within  that  period. 

On  the  1st  day  of  October,  1858,  Dr.  Jackson  and  his  party  of  help- 
ers, arrived  in  Dansville  and  was  landed  by  Captain  Henry,  who  then 


99 


102  BUSINESS 

was  the  proprietor  of  the  stage  line  between  Wayland  and  Dansville, 
at  the  head  of  William  street,  just  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  beneath  the 
Institution,  there  being  no  road  to  the  same. 

Dr.  Jackson  was  not  a  man  of  capital,  but  a  man  of  ideas  and  great 
force  of  character,  and  had  a  large  clientage,  by  reason  of  his  great 
success  as  a  water  cure  physician  during  the  time  he  had  practiced  at 
Glen  Haven.  His  eldest  son,  Giles  E.  Jackson,  his  adopted  daughter, 
Dr.  Harriet  N.  Austin,  and  a  good  friend,  F.  Wilson  Hurd,  who 
afterwards  became  a  physician,  were  the  original  proprietors.  As  a 
matter  of  interest,  the  capital  with  which  the  Institution  was  started 
was  $750  the  partners  being  equally  interested.  From  this  small 
beginning  the  Institution  has  grown  to  its  present  proportions.  The 
first  business  organization,  established  in  October,  1848,  was  known 
as  F.  Wilson  Hurd  &  Co.  Giles  E.  Jackson,  the  eldest  son  of  Dr. 
James  Caleb  Jackson,  was  the  business  manager.  The  immediate 
members  of  Dr.  Jackson's  family  were,  his  wife,  Lucretia  E.  Jackson, 
Giles  E.  his  eldest,  and  James  H.  his  youngest  son. 

The  Institution  grew  and  thrived  greatly,  so  that  by  the  time  the 
winter  set  in  Dr.  Jackson  had  fifty  patients  under  his  care,  and  Dans- 
ville was  gratified  at  the  success  of  its  Water  Cure.  Every  year  saw 
large  additions  and  betterments  in  every  way,  made  to  the  Institution. 
Liberty  Hall  was  built  in  1864,  being  planned  and  its  construction 
supervised  by  Giles  E.  Jackson.  It  was  built  by  Alonzo  Phillips,  a 
builder  of  Dansville,  as  the  contractor.  The  original  plot  of  land  up- 
on which  the  building  was  erected  or  connected  with  the  same,  was 
bought  of  Peter  Perine  and  consisted  of  thirteen  acres.  Nearly  all  the 
land  which  is  connected  with  the  Institution  was  bought  from  time  to 
time  of  Peter  Perine. 

The  death  of  Giles  E.  Jackson  of  consumption,  a  disease  which  he 
had  been  fighting  for  nine  years,  in  June  1864,  compelled  a  dissolution 
of  the  partnership,  and  his  mother,  Lucretia  E.  Jackson,  and  his 
younger  brother,  James  H.  Jackson,  inherited  his  share,  and  a  new 
co-partnership  was  made  under  the  firm  name  of  Austin,  Hurd  &  Co., 
Dr.  Austin  owning  one-third.  Dr.  Hurd  one-third  and  Mrs.  Lucretia 
E.  and  James  H.  Jackson,  owning  one-sixth  each.  The  Institution 
grew  and  flourished  in  every  way  and  came  to  be  a  power  in  the  town 
and  county  and  country.  Dr.  Hurd  sold  his  interest  in  1868  to  the 
other  partners  and  the  new  partnership  was  entitled  Austin,  Jackson 
&  Co.  Under  this  title  the  business  was  carried  on  until  1872,  when 
a  stock  company  was  organized  with  a  capital  of  $100,000,  of  which 
only  eight  hundred  shares  were  issued.  Meantime  something  like  ten 
or  twelve  cottages  had  been  built  around  the  Institution  and  it  had 
grown  to  proportions  enabling  it  to  accomodate  three  hundred  people 
and  had  a  national  reputation,  indeed  even  at  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  there  was  represented  in  it  by  guests  every  state  and  territory  of 
the   Union  at  that  time,  and  in  addition  Canada  and  the  West  Indies. 

In  1870  the  building  on  the  corner  of  William  and  Health  streets, 
originally  built  by  Mr.  Henry  Brewster  and  Captain  Henry,  and  used 
as  a  hotel  and  boarding  house  in  connection  with  Our  tlome  on  the 
Hillside — which  was  the  title  of  the  Water  Cure^ — was  bought  by  Aus- 
tin, Jackson  &  Co.  and  was  occupied  from  that  time  until  January  of 
1901  by  the  members  of  the  Jackson  family. 


LOCAL  LNLKISTRLES  105 

At  the  death  of  Giles  E.  Jackson,  James  H.  Jackson  became  the 
business  manager  of  the  Institution.  He  married  in  1864  Miss  Kath- 
arine Johnson,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Emerson  Johnson,  at  that  time 
living  in  Sturbridge,  Mass.  Mr.  Johnson  came  to  live  with  his  son- 
in-law  in  1S()()  and  was  an  important  factor  in  the  business  affairs  of 
the  Institution  from  that  time  until  the  date  of  liis  death,  May  2, 
1S')().  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  character  and  of  large  ability  and 
was  known  all  through  the  country  as  a  very  important  factor  in  the 
business  success  of  the  Institution. 

On  the  evening  of  June  26,  1882  at  the  high  water  mark  of  its  suc- 
cess, from  a  business  point  of  view,  and  of  its  reputation  as  a  health 
resort,  the  main  building  of  the  Institution  burned.  There  was  no 
loss  of  life  but  great  loss  of  property  on  the  part  of  the  stockholders 
and  by  the  guests.  The  cottages  were  left.  Liberty  Hall  was  left. 
Dr.  James  Caleb  Jackson  at  that  time  had  practically  retired  from 
personal  management  of  the  Institution.  He  was  at  that  time  seven- 
ty-one years  of  age,  and  in  his  usual  mental  vigor  but  feeble  in  bodily 
health,  and  he  had  not  been  for  some  four  or  five  years  very  active  in 
the  management  of  the  Institution.  James  H.  Jackscm  and  his  wife, 
Kate  J.  Jackson,  had  graduated  as  physicians  in  1S7()  and  1877  and  had 
been  practically  at  the  head  of  the  Institution:  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson 
continued  always  to  be  the  business  manager  of  it.  After  the  fire, 
however,  a  new  business  combination  was  made  as  follows.  It  was 
decided  to  go  on  with  the  work  on  the  Hillside,  and  it  was  thought 
that  an  opportunity  existed  for  one  of  the  finest  public  health  institu- 
tions in  the  world,  and  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson  and  Dr.  Kate  J.  Jack- 
son, his  wife,  with  their  usual  courage,  accepted  the  situation  and 
made  a  new  combination.  Dr.  Jackson  bought  in  the  outside  stock 
until  he  became  the  owner  of  the  whole  eight  hundred  shares.  He 
then  disposed  of  thirty  shares  of  the  same  to  his  three  cousins,  Dr.  E. 
D.  Leffingwell,  Dr.  Albert  Leffingwell  and  William  E.  Leffingwell, 
these  gentlemen  being  sons  of  Dr.  James  Caleb  Jackson's  only  sister, 
Jane  E.  Leffingwell.  They  were  all  well  educated  and  talented  men 
and  it  was  thought  that  this  combination  would  prove  a  very  strong 
one,  as  indeed  it  did.  These  gentlemen  furnished  $20,000  worth  of 
added  capital,  making  the  sum  total  of  the  issued  shares  $100,000. 
$100,000  of  cash  was  borrowed  on  first  mortgage  and  Dr.  James  H. 
Jackson,  putting  all  the  property  left  after  the  fire  and  the  insurance 
money  and  much  of  his  private  means  into  the  enterprise,  made  it 
possible  to  build  the  magnificent,  fire-proof  main  building,  which  has 
stood  since  it  was  completed  October  1,  1883,  as  a  monument  to  the 
enterprise  and  dauntless  energy  of  its  projectors  and  to  the  ideas  and 
methods  promulgated  by  the  Institution  as  well  as  the  value  of  Dans- 
ville  as  a  Plealth  Resort. 

The  new  building  was  built  by  Frederich  &  Son  of  Rochester,  con- 
tractors. The  foundations  were  laid  to  grade  by  the  Sanatorium  or- 
ganization. It  must  be  understood  that  at  this  time  the  name  of  the 
Institution  was  changed  from  Our  Home  on  the  Hillside  to  "The  San- 
atorium," Dr.  James  H.  Jackson  being  the  first  one  in  this  country  to 
use  the  word  "Sanatorium"  as  applied  to  a  health  institution;  a  word 
which  has  since  been  recognized  as  the  proper  one,  rather  than  the 
word  "Sanitarium,"  which  means  a  healthful  locality  or  tract  of 
country. 


Local  iND[LS-rRins  109 

The  first  brick  of  the  new  liuilding  was  laid  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  stone  foundation  on  the  first  of  October,  1882,  and  the  building 
was  occupied,  dinner  and  baths  furnished  to  the  guests,  on  the  first 
day  of  October,  1883. 

This  building  was  the  first  fire-proof  structure  ever  built  in  the 
United  States,  outside  of  a  city,  for  purposes  of  a  Health  Institution, 
or,  it  is  thought,  for  any  purpose,  unless  perhaps  a  county  clerk's  of- 
fice or  some  business  man's  vault  or  hall  of  records.  The  architects 
of  this  Institution  were  Messrs.  Warner  &  Brockett,  who  designed  the 
Powers  Block  and  Powers  Hotel  in  Rochester. 

In  the  new  combination  Dr.  William  E.  Leffingwell  was  business 
manager,  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson,  Dr.  Kate  J.  Jackson,  Dr.  Elisha  D. 
Leffingwell  and  Dr.  Albert  Leffingwell  were  managing  physicians. 

The  main  building  of  the  Institution,  when  the  steam  heating  and 
plumbing  were  completed,  had  cost  $180,000,  so  that  by  the  date  the 
Institution  went  into  operation,  it,  with  its  furnishings,  made  a 
pretty  heavy  financial  investment;  indeed  there  was  a  debt  upon  it  of 
$200,000.  This  amount,  with  the  insurance  money  and  the  capital 
put  in  it  by  the  Leffingwells,  represented  the  practical  cost  of  the  In- 
stitution when  it  was  ready  to  do  business  in  October  of  1883. 

In  1886  Mr.  William  E.  Leffingwell  sold  his  interest  to  his  brothers; 
in  1887  Dr.  E.  D.  Leffingwell  sold  his  interest  to  Dr.  Albert  Leffing- 
well, and  in  1888  Dr.  Albert  Leffingwell  sold  his  interest  to  Dr.  James  H. 
Jackson  who  associated  with  himself  as  trustees  and  managers.  Dr. 
Walter  E.  Gregory,  and  Mrs.  Helen  D.  Gregory,  his  wife.  Dr. 
Gregory  had  been  for  years  a  superintendent  in  the  Institution  and 
had  graduated  in  medicine.  Mrs.  Gregory  had  been  cashier  of  the 
Institution  from  1882,  and  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson  associated  them  in 
the  enterprise  when  the  Leffingwells  sold  their  interest. 

On  May  4,  1868,  there  was  born  to  Dr.  James  H.  Jackson  and  Kate 
J.  Jackson  a  son,  who  was  named  James  Arthur  Jackson,  after  his 
father  and  his  mother's  brother.  This  lad  grew  and  prospered  and 
was  early  introduced  into  the  business  and  learned  it  thoroughly 
from  its  least  to  its  greatest  interests  and  departments.  He  grad- 
uated in  medicine  in  1895  and  became  a  physician  and  business 
manager  in  association  with  his  father  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gregory  in 
that  year,  his  father  retiring  practically  from  the  details  of  the  busi- 
ness management. 

In  the  year  1890,  the  old  stock  company,  known  as  Our  Home 
Hygienic  Institute  of  Dansville,  New  York,  was  sold  to  a  new  cor- 
poration known  as  The  Jackson  Sanatorium,  and  Dr.  James  Arthur 
Jackson  became  an  owner,  Mrs.  Gregory  retiring  from  ownership, 
but  retaining  her  office  as  cashier  and  treasurer. 

Dr.  James  Caleb  Jackson  lived  to  be  within  his  8Sth  year,  dying  on 
the  11th  day  of  June,  1895.  He  lived  to  see  the  Institution  which  he 
organized,  so  to  speak  out  of  nothing,  beginning  in  the  smallest  way, 
take  its  place  in  the  front  rank  of  the  Health  Institutions  of  the  coun- 
try, with  a  world-wide  reputation.  He  lived  to  see  the  ideas,  to 
represent  and  to  promulgate  which  the  Institution  was  established,  ac- 
cepted and  cherished  and  adopted  by  thousands  of  people  in  whose 
families  his  name  is  a  household  word. 


L  0CAL';JND  US  TRIES 


111 


Otir  Home  Gratiula  Co. 

Granula  was  perfected  slowly  by  one  of  the  most  discerning  and  pro- 
gressive men  of  his  time  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  preservation  of 
health  and  cure  of  disease.  The  experiments  were  begun  at  Oien 
Haven  by  Dr.  James  C.  Jackson  before  he  came  to  Dansville  and  founded 
the  great  health  institution  on  the  hillside,  nearly  forty  years  ago.  Here 
they  were  continued,  and  here  he  found  the  unequalled  white  winter 
wheat  of  the  Genesee  Valley  essential  tn  the[perfection  of  the  food,  and 
here,  after  a  few  years,  when  his  patients  and  guests  and  the  ten  thousand 
copies  of  his  health  magazine  had  created  a  far-reaching  demand,  he 
introduced  the  necessary  machinery  for  its  rapid  manufacture. 


OUR  HOME   GRANULA   COMPANY   BUILDING 


The  production  and  sale  of  Granula  soon  became  an  important  in- 
dustry at  Our  Home  on  the  Hillside,  surpassing  the  most  sanguine 
expectations  of  its  distinguished  inventor.  It  had  become  almost  un- 
wieldly.  in  connection  with  the  care  of  multiplying  patients,  at  the 
time  of  the  fire  of  1882  which  destroyed  the  old  wood  buildmg,  and 
therefore  when  the  new  fire-proof  building  was  going  up  the  exclusive 
right  to  manufacture  the  food  was  sold  to  Our  Home  (^ranula  Com- 
pany, which  with  better  facilities  in  a  new  brick  building  has  de- 
veloped the  business  until  its  market  extends  to  all  the  states  and 
nearly  every  civilized  nation. 


112  BUSINESS 

Perhaps  there  is  no  other  product  that  more  successfully  advertises 
itself.  Rarely  does  a  family  begin  using  it  without  making  it  a  per- 
manent household  food  and  recommending  it  to  neighbors  and  distant 
friends. 

Granula  was  the  pioneer  health  food,  and  according  to  uncounted 
testimonials  is  the  best — the  most  delicious,  nutritious  and  easily 
digested. 

Dr.  James  H.  Jackson,  the  head  of  the  new  Sanatorium,  who  has 
been  familiar  with  Granula  from  the  beginning,  and  is  one  of  high- 
est authorities  regarding  foods,  has  said  that  there  is  no  other  food  in 
the  world  which  so  fully  meets  all  the  requirements  of  rightly  pro- 
portioned nutritious  constituents,  good  digestion,  quick  assimilation 
and  agreeable  taste  as  Granula,  the  second  cooking  of  its  manufacture 
being  equivalent  to  a  partial  digestion  before  it  enters  the  stomach. 

No  other  health  food  is  so  suitable  for  nursing  mothers  and  young 
children,  as  well  as  the  average  man,  and  no  other  produces  such 
tonic  and  curative  effects  upon  the  sick,  the  feeble,  and  the  aged. 
Nor  is  there  any  other  which,  kept  in  a  dry  place,  will  retain  its 
original  wholesomeness  so  long. 

The  virtues  of  Granula  have  made  it  so  popular  that  various  im- 
itations of  its  name  and  properties  have  been  attempted,  but  every 
one  of  them  is  inferior,  both  in  taste  and  quality,  and  should  be  dis- 
carded wherever  Granula  can  be  obtained,  which  may  always  be 
distinguished  in  the  package  by  its  trade  mark. 

Granula  remains  and  will  remain  the  superior  food,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  distinctions  of  Dansville  that  it  was  perfected  here  and  continues 
to  be  made  here. 

SOMO 

A  few  years  ago  Our  Home  Granula  Company,  taking  into  account 
the  excessive  use  of  tea  and  coffee  and  their  damaging  effects  upon 
many  constitutions,  decided  to  prepare  a  substitute  for  those  exciting 
beverages  which  should  correspond  in  value  as  a  drink  to  their 
Granula  as  a  food.  To  this  end  they  procured  some  of  the  best 
American  grains,  and  caused  a  series  of  comparative  scientific  exper- 
iments to  be  made  with  them.  The  final  result  was  satisfactory.  By 
using  exact  proportions  of  certain  grains  in  combination  they  ob- 
tained a  substance  from  which  could  be  made  an  inexpensive  warm 
drink  as  gratifying  as  coffee,  closely  resembling  it  in  taste,  and  free 
from  any  of  its  injurious  properties.  It  is  a  tonic,  stimulating  and 
invigorating,    and    as  a  table  drink  at  meals  supplies  a  long-felt  want. 

SoMO  is  the  appropriate  name  for  this  new  and  satisfying  drink. 
There  was  a  quick  demand  for  it  from  the  families  who  used  Granula, 
and  its  popularity  has  steadily  widened  and  strengthened  without  the 
aid  of  sensational  advertising. 

"Eat  Granula,  Drink  Somo,"  is  the  motto  on  the  trade  mark 
design  of  the  manufacturers,  and  it  is  worth  remembering  and  testing. 

Ask  your  grocer  for  Granula  to  eat  and  Somo  to  drink,  and  if  he 
does  not  keep  them  write  to  the  makers. 

Our  Home  Granula  Co., 

Dansville,  J\[.  Y. 


LOCAL  rNDllSriURS  113 

R.eadsHaw's   Forest   Mills 

Readshavv's  Forest  Mills  produce  the  best  food  substances  in  the 
world.  It  is  in  the  brains  and  blood  of  the  Readshaws  to  take  the  lead 
and  keep  it  as  jwogressive  millers;  for  they  are  descended  from  a  long 
line  of  skilled  ancestors  who  were  at  the  head  of  their  craft  on  the 
Green  Isle  across  the  ocean,  procured  royal  leases  of  lands,  water 
rights  and  mills,  and  supplied  both  nobility  and  peasantry  with  the 
powdery  constituents  for  their  most  wholesome  food — the  choicest 
grindings  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

Successive  generations  of  Readshaws  kept  the  business  continuous 
in  the  family  line,  and  valuable  secrets  of  manufacture  and  selection 
were  handed  down  from  father  to  son. 

At  last  a  Readshaw  miller  emigrated  to  America,  and  thus  it  came 
about  that  Benjamin  F.  Readshaw  at  the  age  of  eighteen  stepped  into 
Harvey  Ely's  popular  flouring  mill  in  Rochester  as  its  head  miller, 
and  retained  the  position  as  long  as  he  pleased.  Every  best  process 
then  known  for  making  grain  into  flour  and  meal  was  as  familiar  to 
him  as  his  ABC.  After  a  time  the  beauty  and  promise  of  Dansville 
up  the  valley  attracted  him.  He  came  here  in  1840  and  in  partner- 
ship with  John  C.  Williams  leased  the  Opp  mill  at  the  upper  end  of 
the  village,  and  there  ground  grists  that  pleased  their  many  custom- 
ers for  three  years.  Benjamin  F.  Readshaw  and  J.  C.  Williams  were 
the  first  millers  in  Dansville  to  grind  flour  for  shipment  to  the  outside 
trade.  At  the  expiration  of  their  lease  j\[r.  Readshaw  returned  to 
Rochester,  married  there  and  remained  until  l.S4(),  when  he  returned 
to  Dansville  and  purchased  the  Opp  Mill  that  he  leased  before,  and 
became  a  permanent,  useful  and  popular  citizen  of  the  thriving  village. 
In  December  of  that  year  another  miller  was  born  in  the  Readshaw 
home.  This  was  E.  H.  Readshaw,  now  very  much  in  evidence  in 
Dansville  and  elsewhere  as  a  maker  of  the  best  flours  and  meals  from 
the  best  grains.  The  father  made  his  mill  famous  as  the  the  pioneer 
manufacturer  of  the  genuine  Graham  flour,  and  his  imitators  in  this 
direction  have  never  been  able  to  reach  his  standard  of  quality.  In 
his  mill,  known  then  as  the  Opp  Mill  or  the  Farmers'  Mill,  he  was 
quick  to  start  new  processes  and  bring  out  new  products;  and  he 
adopted  the  name  of  Forest  Mills  as  a  trade  mark  to  distinguish  his 
products  from  those  of  other  mills  which  might  try  to  imitate  them. 
Other  grindings  came  from  his  mill  from  time  to  time,  some  of  which 
are  now  included  in  the  list  of  choice  specialties  advertised  by  his  son 
and  successor. 

Dr.  James  C.  Jackson  appeared  in  Dansville  in  1858  and  started  his 
great  health  institution  on  the  hillside.  His  eyes  were  open  to  per- 
ceive the  things  around  him  which  were  most  needed,  and  after  test- 
ing Mr.  Readshaw's  products  he  exclaimed  "Eureka!" 

It  was  the  combined  skill  of  these  two  men,  each  remarkable  in  his 
own  line  of  investigation,  that  made  the  tables  of  "Our  Home  on  the 
Hillside"  famous  so  early  for  their  new  and  delicious  grain  foods, 
which  went  a  long  way  towards  ridding  the  incoming  patients  of  their 
ailments  and  morbid  feelings — Mr.  Readshaw  furnishing  the  essential 
constituents  and  Dr.  Jackson's  helpers  under  his  directions,  trans- 
forming them  into  palatable  dishes  easy  to  digest  and   assimilate,  and 


116  BUSINESS 

potent  to  purify  the  blood,  clarify  the  brain,  and  tone  up  the  whole 
body.  From  the  first  year  of  the  original  "Home"  to  this  year  of  the 
imposing  Jackson  Sanatorium,  which  evolved  from  it  as  naturally  as 
the  flower  evolves  from  the  bud,  the  grindings  for  that  splendid  insti- 
tution have  been  obtained  from  the  Forest  Mills  of  the  Dansville 
Readshaws. 

When  E.  H.  Readshaw  took  his  lamented  father's  place,  processes 
were  further  improved  and  other  specialties  invented.  The  business 
became  too  large  to  manage  in  the  original  mill,  and  in  1889  was 
moved  into  the  "Stone  Mill"  which  after  a  few  years  was  also  found 
to  be  too  small,  and  left  behind  for  better  and  more  spacious  quarters 
in  1896. 

E.  H.  Readshaw  then  purchased  the  three-story  brick  school  build- 
ing 45  by  60  feet,  with  high  basement,  on  Ossian  street,  that  he  might 
have  room  enough  to  carry  out  his  ideas  of  better  appliances  and  re- 
sults. He  furnished  it  with  every  convenience  for  perfect  manufac- 
ture and  quick  shipment  with  a  minimum  of  labor,  erected  a  separate 
building  for  a  fifty  horsepower  engine,  and  as  soon  as  possible  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  midst  of  these  greatly  improved  conditions.  The 
three-story  building  has  the  best  obtainable  stones,  rollers,  lifts,  puri- 
fiers and  other  mechanical  requirements  for  the  production  of  the  un- 
equaled  Readshaw  specialties.  The  complicated  machinery  runs  as 
smoothly  as  clock  work  and  produces  food  substances  from  the  various 
grains,  with  every  foreign  substance  eliminated,  which  are  a  joy  to 
every  household  where  they  are  used. 

The  standard  grain  is  the  Genesee  Valley  white  winter  wheat,  pre-em- 
inent among  the  grains  of  the  whole  world  in  the  quality  and  proportions 
of  its  concentrated  food  values.  It  is  richer  in  phosphates,  nitrates, 
gluten  and  other  nutritious  and  health-giving  elements  than  any  other 
kind  of  grain  not  only,  but  any  other  wheat,  not  excepting  the  famous 
wheats  of  the  prairied  West.  The  Sanatorium  scientists  have  experi- 
mented enough  with  different  grains  to  endorse  this  statement  with- 
out hesitation. 

No  wonder,  therefore,  that  E.  H.  Readshaw  and  his  son,  Benjamin  G. 
Readshaw,  now  associated  with  him,  have  a  demand  for  their  ground 
and  packed  specialties  from  all  over  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
and  also  from  the  West  Indies  and  the  countries  across  the  seas.  Their 
Forest  Mills  are  cosmopolitan  mills  because  they  are  located  where 
the  best  grains  are  grown,  and  these  are  reduced  by  the  most  approved 
processes  under  the  supervision  of  men  with  inventive  minds,  who  be- 
lieve in  practical  progress  all  the  while. 

Here  is  a  list  of  specialties  produced  at  Readshaw 's  Forest  Mills: 
Graham  Flour  (pure  wheat  meal).  Entire  Wheat  Flour,  Complete 
Flour,  Grana  (granulated  wheat),  Dyspeptic  Flour  (light  gluten),  Di- 
abetic Flour  (dark  gluten).  Broken  Wheat,  Rye  Meal,  Rye  Flour, 
Buckwheat  Flour.  Also  Winter  Wheat  Patents,  Winter  Wheat 
Straights,  All  Full  Roller  Flours. 

The  quality  of  every  product  is  guaranteed,  and  Mr.  Readshaw  will 
furnish  price  lists  and  descriptive  booklet  containing  testimonials  and 
valuable  recipes  to  anyone  asking  for  them, 


LOCAL  INDUSTRIES  117 

Dansville  Hospital 

The  Dansville  Hospital  is  an  institution  combining  all  the  advan- 
tages of  a  Public  Hospital  and  Private  Sanitarium,  where  both  medi- 
cal and  surgical  cases  are  treated.  It  is  located  in  Dansville,  Living- 
ston County,  New  York,  at  the  southern  end  of  the  famed  Genesee 
Valley,  the  garden  of  Western  New  York.  The  Hospital  is  a  three- 
story  brick  building  with  a  frontage  of  one  hundred  feet  and  a  depth 
of  si.xty  feet.  It  stands  near  the  foot  of  the  slope  of  East  hill  facing 
west,  commanding  a  fine  view  of  village  and  valley.  The  building  is 
in  the  midst  of  a  park  of  five  acres  with  avenues  of  handsome  maples 
and  other  shade  trees.  The  climate  of  the  valley  is  mild  and  invig- 
orating, and  the  entire  region  is  noted  for  its  healthfulness. 

The  interior  of  the  building  is  handsomely  finished  and  furnished. 
The  ceilings  are  high  and  the  rooms  are  well  lighted  and  thoroughly 
ventilated.  There  are  pleasant  prospects  from  every  window.  A 
wide  sweep  of  country  including  the  mountain  ranges,  can  be  taken 
in  from  the  observatory  on  the  roof. 

On  the  first  floor  there  is  a  spacious  entrance  hall,  with  a  reception 
room  atone  side  in  front  and  office  on  the  other  side;  in  the  rear  a 
pharmacy  and  a  men's  bath  room.  At  the  south  end  of  the  transverse 
hall  is  a  commodious  dining  room  and  serving  room,  at  the  north  end 
a  large  ward  capable  of  accommodating  twenty-five  persons. 

The  second  floor  contains  a  fine  operating  room  with  all  the  appli- 
ances of  modern  surgery,  medical  and  surgical  rooms,  wards  and  pri- 
vate rooms  for  women,  and  a  women's  bath  room. 

On  the  third  floor  are  private  rooms  and  rooms  en  suite  for  patients 
and  their  friends. 

In  addition  to  the  well  equipped  operating  room  and  the  latest  im- 
proved instruments,  there  is  a  hot  air  apparatus  very  useful  in  the 
treatment  of  certain  diseases  in  which  the  waste  products  of  the  sys- 
tem can  be  eliminated  by  the  skin.  There  is  also  a  twelve  plate 
Morton-Wimshurst-Holtz  Static  machine,  and  an  X-Ray  outfit  in  use 
both  as  a  means  of  diagnosis  and  for  the  treatment  of  cancer,  lupus, 
tubercular  glands,  etc.  Many  victims  of  cancer  who  suffer  and 
languish  in  their  own  homes,  a  source  of  great  care  and  solicitude  on 
the  part  of  their  friends  who  are  helpless  to  give  them  relief,  are  skill- 
fully treated  here  by  the  X-Rays  and  made  comfortable  without  pain. 
The  disease  by  this  treatment  can  be  arrested  and  occasionally  cured. 
A  separate  ward  is  given  to  such  cases. 

Special  attention  is  given  to  the  treatment  of  nervous  diseases,  par- 
ticularly neurasthenia  and  locomotor  ataxia.  Massage  and  hydro- 
therapy are  used  in  suitable  cases. 

In  the  quiet  and  homelike  atmosphere  of  the  Hospital  and  with  ex- 
perienced nurses,  maternity  cases  can  often  be  more  safely  and  suc- 
cessfully treated  than  in  the  homes  of  the  patients. 

In  addition  to  the  large  and  competent  local  staff,  and  regularly 
graduated  nurses,  some  of  the  best  consulting  physicians  and  surgeons 
of  Rochester  and  Buffalo  and  other   cities   promptly  respond  to  call. 

A  peculiar  and  specially  noteworthy  advantage  of  the  Dansville 
Hospital  is,  that  patients  can  have  their  own  family  physicians  and 
surgeons  attend  them  and  all  the  appliances  of  surgery  and  medicine 


'¥:.''»^'p^^  W4 


^\      J 


LOCAL  INDUSTRIES  119 

and  nursing  are  at   their  service.     Provision  may  also  be  made  for 
friends  of  patients  who  wish  to  accompany  them. 

In  addition  to  the  advantages  of  recuperative  conditions  inside  the 
walls  of  the  Hospital,  the  outside  surroundings  are  most  attractive 
and  health-giving  to  the  convalescing  patient  according  to  his 
strength.  The  park  in  which  the  building  is  located  invites  him  to 
try  the  outdoor  air,  and  if  he  can  ride  there  are  numerous  charming 
drives  near,  by  the  smooth  country  roads,  through  winding  ways  be- 
tween high  walls  of  rock  fringed  with  shrubbery,  and  into  glens,  or 
along  mountain  roads  overlooking  fascinating  panoramas  of  valley 
fields  of  nursery  trees  and  grain  and  corn  and  grass ;  farther  away 
beautiful  Conesus  lake  dotted  with  boats  and  surrounded  by  beautiful 
cottages.  A  more  delightful  region  for  short  drives  or  extended  ex- 
cursions can  hardly  be  imagined.  All  Nature  seems  here  to  join  with 
the  Hospital  in  promoting  the  restoration  to  complete  health  of  the 
sick  and  worn-out,  or  the  -^ictims  of  accident.  World-wide  travelers 
have  enthusiastically  declared  that  they  have  never  seen  in  all  their 
wanderings  so  beautiful  a  valley  as  the  one  in  which  nestles  the  vil- 
lage of  Dansville.  The  village  has  many  handsome  private  and  pub- 
lic buildings  and  parks,  churches  and  schools. 

Much  quiet,  effective  work  has  already  been  done  and  is  now  doing 
at  the  Dansville  Hospital,  which  gives  cordial  invitation  to  physicians 
and  patients  everywhere  to  test  its  merits. 

Terms  are  $10  to  $25- a  week,  which  include  room  and  board,  sur- 
gical and  medical  treatment  and  supplies  and  nursing — according  to 
room  and  condition.  This  is  less  than  it  often  costs  to  be  cared  for 
at  home,  and  insures  skillful  treatment  and  care  at  all  hours  of  the  day 
and  night.  A  church  or  society  can  provide  for  a  bed  for  a  member 
at  a  most  reasonable  price. 

Consulting  physicians  and  surgeons  are  Dr.  John  Parmenter,  399 
Franklin  street,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  Dr.  M.  A.  Crockett,  452  Franklin 
street,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  Dr.  William  B.  Jones,  215  Lake  avenue,  Roch- 
ester, N.  Y. ;  Dr.  George  H.  Ahlers,  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  Dr.  Wm.  C. 
Phelps,  146  Allen  street,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  Dr.  Edward  Clark,  866  Elli- 
cott  square,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  ;  Dr.  Al.  Benedict,  174  Franklin  street, 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  Dr.  F.  B.  Willard,  334  Potomac  avenue,  Buffalo,  N. 
Y. ;  Dr.  E.  Wood  Ruggles,  204  Alexander  street,  Rochester,  N.  Y. ; 
Dr.  Henry  Koch,  19  Cumberland  street,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Local  consulting  physicians  and  surgeons,  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  are  Dr. 
B.  P.  Andrews,  109  Main  street ;  Dr.  James  E.  Crisfield,  138  Main 
street;  Dr.  Frederick  R.  Driesbach,  100  Main  street;  Dr.  Francis  M. 
Ferine,  218  Main  street;  Dr.  Charles  V.  Patchin,  66  Elizabeth  street; 
Dr.  W.  B.  Preston,  48  Elizabeth  street;  Dr.  Ella  F.  Preston,  48  Eliz- 
abeth street.  Robert  Sinclair,  superintendent.  The  matron  and 
nurses  are  regular  graduates. 

-^ 

The  building  occupied  as  a  hospital  was  built  in  1860  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Methodist  Genesee  conference  for  educational  purposes  under  the  name  of 
Dansville  Seminary,  and  as  such  became  widely  and  favorably  known.  It  was 
also  used  as  the  starting  place  for  the  Dansville  Union  school  from  1883  until 
the  completion  of  the  new  Union  school  building  in  1888.  The  building  with 
its  fine  grounds  was  purchased  about  eleven  years  ago  by  Dr.  George  H. 
Ahlers  of  Pittsburg,  Pa., 'and  opened  as  a  hospital  in  January,  1900. 


L  OCA  L  IND  US  TRIliS 


121 


LACKAWANNA   STATION 


TKe  Lackawannsk  R.ailroad 

Four  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  valley  and  only  midway 
up  the  side  of  a  precipitous  hill,  the  Lackawanna  winds  its  way  for 
many  miles  east  and  west  of  Dansville  station.  The  wonderful  feat 
of  engineering  construction  which  placed  this  territory  on  the  main 
line  of  this  road,  not  only  opened  up  a  country  rich  in  natural  re- 
sources but  one  resplendent  in  magnificent  scenery.  Looking  from 
the  car  window  out  over  Dansville,  one  can  scarcely  resist  an  exclama- 
tion of  delight.  From  hill  to  hill  the  village  stretches  directly  away 
for  two  miles;  the  surrounding  hills  converging  at  the  southwest 
form  a  precipitous  ravine,  and  diverging  at  the  northwest,  the  valley 
becomes  a  fertile  plain,  a  spur  of  the  famous  Genesee.  Watered  by 
many  streams  with  numerous  tributaries  the  surrounding  country 
glories  in  luxuriant  vegetation,  cultivated  so  well  that  the  casual  ob- 
server gazes  apparently  upon  a  landscape  garden  of  marvelous  pro- 
portions. 

The  historical  relations  of  the  Lackawanna  and  Dansville  are  given 
in  the  general  history  under  the  chapter  on  Canals  and  Railroads. 
The  purpose  of  the  sketch  is  to  give  further  evidence  by  fact  and 
figures  of  the  value  of  their  association  and  thereby  to  acquaint  the 
uninitiated  with  the  importance  of  local  transportation  facilities. 

For  twenty  years  the  company  has  been  represented  in  Dansville, 
by   Charles  A.    Snyder,    whose  careful   regard  for  the  interests  of  his 


122 


BUS/IVESS 


employers  and  his  courteous  treatment  of  all  patrons  of  the  road,  have 
been  important  factors  in  maintaining  the  amicable  relations  that 
have  always  existed  between  this  corporation  and  the  inhabitants  of 
this  and  adjoining  communities.  The  passenger  depot  is  a  two-story 
structure  of  commodious  size,  containing  every  modern  convenience. 
All  the  buildings  composing  this  station  were  entii-ely  destroyed  by 
fire  in  1898  and  were  replaced  by  the  handsome  ones  here  illustrated 
in  1899.    During  the  past  year  (1901)  tickets  were  sold  at  the  local  office 


CULBERTSON'S    GLEN    BRIDGE 


amounting  in  round  numbers  to  .$26,893.38.  Three  thousand  tons  of 
freight  were  billed  and  18,000  tons  received.  These  figures  show  a 
large  gain  over  corresponding  ones  of  any  previous  year  and  best 
illustrate  the  growing  popularity  of  the  Lackawanna,  and  its  effect  on 
the  community.  Two  miles  to  the  east  there  is  under  way  one  of  the 
most  daring  feats  of  engineering  construction  ever  attempted.  Here 
a  deep  and  wide  ravine  is  spanned  by  a  mammoth  steel  structure 
which,  proving  inadequate  to  support  the  largest  engines,  is  being 
rapidly  replaced  by  a  bridge  of  earth  to  contain  600,000  tons  of  soil 
and  rock,  covering  a  culvert  340x16  feet  in  size,  and  the  bridge  itself 
over  530  feet  from  end  to  end.  This  will  be  accomplished  at  a  cost  of 
half  a  million  dollars,  but  will  be  an  improvement  that  will  last  for- 
ever. Four  miles  to  the  west  a  similiar  undertaking  is  being  accom- 
plished so  that  the  heavy  grade  extending  sixteen  miles,  from   Grove- 


LOCAL  INDUS  I'RI lis 


\2'}, 


land  to  Porlway,  ma_v  have  the  advaiUaj^c  of  the  most  powci-ful  mo- 
tive power,  ami  thert'liy  overcome  to  a  material  det^ree,  th.e  imped- 
iment to  traflie,  causeil  by  the  gradual  elevation  of  the  road  bed  for 
so  long  a  distance. 

A[r.  T.  \V.   Lee,  General  Passenger  Agent   of   the    Lackawanna   for 
Western  New    York,  is  an  occasional  visitor  to  Dansville,  whose  com- 


CHARLES   A.   SNYDER 


ing  is  looked  forward  to  with  pleasure  by  his  many  friends  in  this 
locality.  A  just  arbiter  of  grievances  and  an  able  executive,  few  who 
come  under  the  sphere  of  his  influence  can  fail  to  be  impressed  with 
the  justice  of  his  decisions  and  the  value  of  his  methods.  Mr.  Burch 
has  for  ten  years  been  in  charge  of  the  receipts  and  prompt  shipment 
of  all  freight  and  baggage  at  this  station.  Mr.  Cross  since  1.S82  has 
been  the  intermediary  for  the  cash  of  the  public  and  the  company's 
guarantees  for  transportationn,  and  the  efficient  telegrapher  as  well. 
The  history  of  the  Lackawanna  as  exemplified  in  Dansville  is 
paralleled  in  hundreds  of  other  places,  causing  the  whole  story  to  read 
like  a  romance  but  one,  however,  that  has  a  substantial  culmination. 


LOCAL  INDUSTRIES  125 

Van  Valkenbtxrg's  Music  House 

"Music  is  the  art  of  tlie  prophets,  the  only  art  that  can  calm  the 
agitation  of  the  soul ;  it  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  presents  God 
has  given  us. "  To  the  untutored  ear  the  harmonious  blending  of 
pleasing  sounds  is  an  indescribable  delight;  to  the  cultured  performer 
it  becomes  a  source  of  everlasting  pleasure  and  comfort.  A  taste  for 
music,  inherent  in  many,  is,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  acquired  under 
judicious  instruction.  Never,  however,  is  adaptability  for  the  art 
manifested  without  the  aid  of  a  good  instrument,  which  is  an  inspira- 
tion in  itself.  The  prospective  purchaser  is  seldom  a  capable  judge  of 
quality  or  tone  and  for  this  reason  should  intrust  the  fulfillment  of 
his  desires  to  a  specialist.  Dansville  is  called  a  musical  village,  for 
few  communities  of  its  size  are  favored  with  so  much  local  talent  or  so 
many  professional  artists.  This  undoubtedly  is  in  a  measure  responsi- 
ble for  the  centering  here  of  the  large  trade  now  controlled  by  the  A. 
L.  Van  Valkenburg  musical  establishment,  the  traffic  of  which  extends 
all  over  western  New  York  and  northern  Pennsylvania  and  is  rapidly 
increasing,  as  it  continues  to  draw  heavily  on  the  trade  that  formerly 
went  to  the  large  cities. 

Mr.  Y^n  Valkenburg  has  been  a  resident  of  this  village  since  18')(), 
having  purchased  in  1895  the  business  established  by  Hoecker  &  Co., 
during  the  year  1887  in  the  Hoecker  block  on  Exchange  street.  The 
present  business  is  located  at  148  Main  Street,  where  the  whole  of  a 
large  three-story  block  is  occupied  by  the  business.  A  large  stock  of 
the  leading  makes  of  pianos,  organs  and  string  instruments,  as  well  as 
other  musical  merchandise,  is  carried,  so  that  orders  are  promptly 
filled.  Edison's  Phonographs  and  supplies  are  made  a  specialty,  and 
being  so  well  known  need  no  recommendation.  Sheet  music  in  end- 
less variety  is  always  on  hand  or  is  secured  in  forty-eight  hours  after 
order  is  received.  The  success  which  Mr.  Van  Valkenburg  has  at- 
tained in  his  line  of  business  has  been  due  to  the  adaptability  he  has 
shown  for  his  particular  vocation  and  the  push  and  enterprise  exhib- 
ited by  continually  extending  the  field  of  his  operations  until  it 
now  covers  a  radius  of  hundreds  of  miles.  Pleasing  in  manner  and  ex- 
tremely obliging  and  courteous  to  all,  Mr.  Van  Valkenburg  has  a  host 
of  friends  both  in  and  out  of  his  business  relations,  who  are  proud  of 
his  unusual  success  and  are  equally  sure  of  the  continued  prosperity 
of  his  business.  Mr.  A.  E.  Thurston,  who  has  been  associated  with 
Mr.  Van  Valkenburg  as  representative  for  a  number  of  years,  has  a 
wide  reputation  as  a  salesman  who  sells.  Miss  Mazie  Van  Valken- 
burg, a  pianist  of  unusual  ability,  is  the  obliging  demonstrator  of  new 
music,  making  a  visit  to  this  establishment  a  pleasure  not  soon  to  be 
forgotten. 


126 


7J['SINESS 


Wilson  <5l  Altmeyer 

Man  by  nature  is  a  social  creature  and  as  such  he  craves  the  comforts 
of  a  home,  which  be  it  ever  so  humble  there  is  no  place  like  unto  it. 
Our  forefathers  in  the  days  when  hardships  were  accepted  as  an  indis- 
pensable part  of  existence,  resorted  to  their  own  mechanical  skill  to  hew 
from  the  rough  the  few  necessaries  that  constituted  their  modest 
household  equipment.  As  prosperity  grew  upon  them,  their  tastes 
advanced  accordingly  and  one  by  one  pieces  of  home-made  furniture 
were  replaced  by  the  constructions  of  skilled  artisans.  Before  the  age 
of  modern  machinery,  laborious  indeed  was  the  task  of  building  a 
single  article  and  necessarily  high  was  the  price  set  upon  it.  In  those 
days  a  few  pieces  represented  a  competence  and  a  house  full  a  small 
fortune.  How  different,  how  superior  are  the  existing  circumstances 
when  illumined  by  contrast  with  the  old..  The  great  mechanisms  of 
iron  and  steel,  moving  with  more  than  life-like  accuracy,  carve  the 
ugly  timbers  into  beauteous  shapes  or  intricate  designs,  which,  when 
combined,  become  available  for  utility  and  adornment.  The  consumer 
shares  best  in  these  improvements,  for  he  receives  today  his  household 
furnishings  for  but  a  small  advance  on  the  value  of   materials   used  in 


LOCAL  LNDUSTRLES 


127 


construction,  l^'ew  people  would  dare  trust  their  own  judgment  in 
selecting  furniture  which  perhajjs  appears  to  be  one  thing  but  may  be 
another.  It  is  therefore  essential  to  the  welfare  of  every  community 
that  some  one  versed  in  the  art  of  cabinet  making  and  upholstering 
should  be  available  to  guide  one  aright  and  make  selections  of  more 
than  temporary  value.  These  public  benefactors  are  generally  called 
furniture  dealers,  while  undertaking  seems  to  have  become  of  late 
years  an  allied  branch,  as  uxernplified  in  the  firm  of  Wilson  &  Altmeyer. 


VIEW   IN   OFFICE 


This  co-partnership  was  established  in  July,  18%,  by  F.  G.  Wilson 
and  H.  M.  Altmeyer,  both  men  of  many  years'  experience  in  their  es- 
pecial vocations.  Today  they  stand  without  a  competitor  in  one  of 
the  choicest  districts  in  western  New  York.  Opposition  they  have 
had,  but  none  that  could  live  because  it  was  not  needed  by  the  public. 
The  building  now  occupied  by  them  for  office  and  salesrooms  is  a 
brick  structure  with  a  large  annex,  having  a  total  floor  space  of  nearly 
15,01)0  square  feet.     Besides  this  there    are    iarge   storage    warerooms 


128 


BUSINESS 


to  accommodate  surplus  stock.  Their  large  and  well-lighted  sales- 
rooms are  always  crowded  with  the  latest  styles  of  furniture  in  various 
styles  and  designs  and  all  artistic.  All  goods  are  personally  selected 
from  the  leading  markets  at  the  most  opportune  times  by  members  of 
the  firm.  A  separate  department  is  in  charge  of  competent  workmen 
for  repairing,  mattress-making  and  upholstering.  The  undertaking 
branch  is  conducted  personally  by  Messrs.  Wilson  and  Altmeyer,  both 
licensed  embalmers.  Its  accompanying  paraphernalia  is  equal  to  any 
in  the  country:  handsomely  furnished  undertaking  rooms  with  pri- 
vate morgue;  ambulance  service;  two  modern  funeral  cars;  white 
child's  hearse;  lowering  device,  and  all  other  necessary  equipments  for 
assisting  the  bereaved  in  the  last  tokens  of  respect  that  are  paid  the 
departed. 

Messrs.  Wilson  and  Altmeyer  in  their  natures  constitute  that  rare 
combination  of-  dignified  reserve  and  gentlemanly  cordiality.  Pos- 
sessed of  like  energy  and  unity  of  purpose,  they  have  already  achieved 
material  success  and  the  future  means  its  continuance. 


SECTIONAL  VIEW   IN   ONE   SALESROOM 


LOCAL  INDUSTRLES 


129 


DANSVILLE   AND    MT.   MORRIS    i^.   R.   STATION 


Dainsville  <5l  Mt.  Morris   Railroad 

The  building  of  a  railroad  from  Dansville  to 
Mt.  Morris  was  a  project  long  agitated  before 
it  was  finally  accomplished.  Probably  no  other 
event  has  contributed  more  to  the  progress  of 
the  village  than  the  all  important  occasion  on 
which  Dansville  was  put  in  direct  connection 
with  one  of  the  greatest  of  this  country's  mam- 
moth railroad  systems,  the  popular  Erie. 

The  Dansville  and  Mount    Morris   railroad  is 
now  an  independent  line.     Mr.  A.  vS,  ilurray  of 
New  York  city  is  receiver;   Mr.  Robert  H.  Eng- 
land of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,   is    general  manager. 
The  following  officers  and  employes  are  located  in  Dansville :     George 

E.  Dunklee  superintendent    and     freight    and      passenger     agent; 

F.  S.  Willour,  station  agent;  James  Dieter,  ticket  agent; 
Miss  Angle  Allen,  bookkeeper;  W.  G.  Passage,  conductor; 
Eugene  Crosston,  freight  conductor;  John  Albert,  freight  engineer; 
Henry  Albert,  passenger  engineer ;  Fred  vShedona  and  Robert  Goodwin, 
section  bosses.  An  historical  sketch  of  the  building  of  Dansville's  first 
railroad  will  be  found  under  the  chapter  on  Canals  and  Railroads,  the 
present  sketch  being  intended  to  convey  a  better  realization  of  the  im- 
portance of  this   railroad  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  our  village.  The 


(M>.  if.  Wwc/cUvU3(r:^ 


LOCAL  LMH'STRIliS 


131 


fifteen  miles  of  track  conncetino'  Dansville  and  Mt.  iMorris  passes 
throuj;h  wliat  is  locally  called  "the  flats,"  which  arc  really  a  spur 
of  the  (ienesee  valley.  The  most  important  intermediate  stations  are 
West  Sparta,  which  is  rapidly  developing  the  cultivation  of  nursery 
stock;  Meyers,  with  its  large  store  and  bolt  mills;  Groveland,  the  lo- 
cation of  The  National  Cooperate  Co.  jNIills;  Sonyca  (Cr?.ig  Colony), 
with  its  ^Vhite  City — New  York  State  Institution  .for  the  Care  of 
Epileptics. 

The  stati(M'i  and  yards  are  at  the  foot  of  Milton  street,  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  village.  The  -well  appointed  freight  and  passenger  depots 
are  combined  in  one  substantial  structure,  which  contains  also  the  of- 
fices of  the  superintendent.  The  equipment  of  the  road  consists  of 
through  car  service  with  the  Erie  railroad  between  Rochester,  Buffalo 
and  Dansville.  One  of  the  most  important  factors  of  the  road  is  the 
facilities  and  advantages  which  it  offers  to  the  local  nurserymen  for 
the  prompt  shipment  of  stock  and  the  importing  of  supplies.  Passing 
for  its  entire  length  through  the  very  center  of  one  the  finest  nursery 
belts  in  the  slate,  the  railroad  is  approached  at  regular  intervals  by 
the  loading  stations  of  the  leading  nurserymen. 

^Ir.  Robert  W.  li^ngland,  general  manager  of  this  railroad  since  1S<)S, 
was  formerly  a  resident  of  this  village,  but  for  some  time  has  been  an 
honored  citizen  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.      He  still  continues  to  impress  his 

personality  u[)on  all  the  operations  of 
the  company  and  with  his  customary 
thoroughness  and  directness  is  steadily 
adding  to  and  improving  the  equipment 
of  the  road  and  increasing  its  subseejuent 
patronage. 

Mr.  (i.  E.  Himklee,  the  present  gen- 
._'ral  superintendent,  has  acceptably 
filled  this  important  post  since  I'JUO. 
Thoughtful  of  the  wishes  of  all  patrons 
of  the  road  and  careful  in  the  conduct 
of  local  management  and  the  selection 
of  his  assistants,  Mr.  Dunklee  has 
made  his  influence  felt  by  a  substantial 
increase  to  both  the  passenger  and 
GEORGE  E.  DUNKLEE  freight  traffic. 


132 


BUSINESS 


Blum  SKoe  Competny 

Fifteen  years  ago  a  small  shoe  factory  was  started  in  the 
Shepard  block  by  John  Blum.  Only  a  few  were  employed, 
and  while  a  wood  stove  furnished  the  necessary  heat,  the 
hands  of  the  employes  did  all  the  work.  From  this 
small  beginning,  in  spite  of  strong  competitors,  the  busi- 
ness forged  rapidly  ahead  until  today  the  superior  excel- 
lence of  the  goods  and  the  enterprise  of  the  promoters 
have  firmly  established  a  large  and  lucrative  trade  in  the  best  markets 
throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada.  In  1895,  the  quarters 
proving  inadequate  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  rapidly  increasing 
business,  a  change  was  made  to  the  present  location  on  the  corner  of 
Milton  and  Spruce  streets  where  they  now  occupy  the  handsome  three- 
story  brick  building  erected  by  Stephen  C.  Allen  in  1873.  Today  the 
company  does  all  its  work  by  machines  of  the  latest  patterns,  running 
at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  and  every  new  mechanical  device    which    will 


improve  quality,  style  or  workmanship,  is  introduced  as  soon  as  it  is 
placed  on  the  market.  About  100  skilled  workmen  are  constantly  em- 
ployed and  though  each  shoe  passes  through  some  fifty  different  hands, 
400  pairs  of  various  kinds  of  men's,  ladies'  and  children's  felt  shoes  and 
slippers  are  manufactured  daily.  The  Blum  Shoe  Co.  was  incorpor- 
ated in  1898  for  $25,000,  and  in  1900  the  capital  stock  was  increased 
to  $50,000,  members  of  the  Blum  family  controling  all  the  shares. 
John  Blum  is  president,  Frank  J.  Blum  superintendent  and  manager, 
and  Philip  E.  Blum  secretary  and  treasurer;  each  one  being  peculiarly 
adapted  to  his  position,  making  a  combination  of  great  strength  and 
reliability.  One  of  the  most  important  industries  in  Dansville  as 
well  as  the  county,  the  Blum  Shoe  Company  needs  no  further  com- 
mendation. 


LOCAL  LNDUSTRLES 


133 


The  adjoining  illustration  shows 
one  of  the  many  different  kinds  of 
shoes  built  for  warmth  and  comfort 
by  the  Blum  Shoe  Company, under 
patents  which  cover  their  special 
construction.  The  demands  of 
this  rapidly  growing  business  are 
already  taxing  the  present  quarters 
and  the  near  future  is  sure  to  wit- 
ness a  substantial  extension  to 
their  present  commodious  prem- 
ises. 

The  growing  popularity  of  these 
products,  manifested  by  the  in- 
creased size  of  successive  orders 
and  the  considerable  demand  from 
unsolicited  quarters, best  illustrates 
the  confidence  which  the  Blum 
trade  mark  inspires  in  both  the 
trade  and  buying  public. 


134 


BUSINESS 


THe  Citizens  Bank  of  Dansville 

The  Citizens  Bank  at  Dansville,  one  of  the  strongest  financial  in- 
stitutions in  western  New  York,  during  its  fifteen  years  of  substantial 
support  since  organization,  has  established  a  precedent  in  the  rapid 
growth  of  local  banks.  It  was  called  into  life  in  the  time  of  Dans- 
ville's  greatest  financial  distress  and  not  only  succeeded  in  ameliorat- 
ing the  conditions  which  characterized  its  inception,  but  contributed 


CITIZLNS    BANK   BUILDING 


to  and  encouraged  the  subsequent  prosperity  of  the  village  and  made 
possible  the  splendid,  general,  financial  outlook  of  today,  unparalleled 
by  any  period  in  the  history  of  the  village. 

Twenty-three  public  spirited  business  men  met  at  the  office  of 
Noyes  &  Noyes,  Sept.  22,  1887,  and  consummated  their  plans  for  the 
organization  of  this  bank.  On  the  24th,  the  certificate  of  as- 
sociation was  recorded  with  the  county  clerk,  the  twenty-six  share- 
holders representing  a  paid  up  capital  stock  of  $50,000.  The  direc- 
tors elected  the  28th  day  of  the  same  month,  were :  Frank  Fielder, 
James  H.  Jackson,  John  J.  Bailey,  James  Krein,  James  W.  Wadsworth, 


LOCAL  LNDUSTRLES  135 

George  A.  Sweet,  Elias  H.  Geiger,  John  H.  Magee,  Fred  W.  Noyes. 
Officers  elected:  George  A.  Sweet,  president;  James  W.  Wadsworth 
vice  president;  F.  Fielder,  cashier.  F.  W.  Noyes  was  appointed 
attorney  for  the  bank  July  31,  1888,  having  served  as  such  officer  from 
date  of  organization.  F.  P.  Magee  was  elected  book-keeper  September 
28,  1887,  and  on  January  ]  5,  1889,  elected  teller  and  head  bookkeeper 
and  on  January  31,  1898,  was  duly  elected  assistant  cashier.  Charles 
A.  Brown  began  his  term  of  service  as  assistant  bookkeeper  in  Feb- 
ruary 1888  and  as  head  bookkeeper  January  31,    1898.     A.    H.   Welch 


r.   FIE.LDE.R 


entered  upon  his  duties  as  clerk  in  October  1894  and  resigned  October 
1,  1901,  Air.  Frank  Lemen  being  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy.  January 
12,  1891,  Mr.  H.  F.  Dyer  was  elected  a  director  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  decease  of  James  Krein.  January  9,  1893,  James 
Arthur  Jackson  was  elected  a  director  in  place  of  his  father  James  H. 
Jackson,  resigned.  January  13,  1896,  John  T.  McCurdy  was  elected  a 
director  in  place  of  Mr.  Elias  H.  Geiger  who  died  January  27.  1895. 
No  other  changes  have  been  made  in  the  board  of  directors.  The 
board  of  directors  now  stands  as  follows :  J.  W.  Wadsworth,  James 
Arthur  Jackson,  John  J.  Bailey,  John  H.  Magee,  George  A.  Sweet, 
Fred  W.  Noyes,  H.  F.  Dyer,  J.  T.  McCurdy,  Frank  Fielder. 

Amount  of  taxes  paid  by  this  bank  during  the  period  beginning 
December  1889,  is  as  follows:  Town,  county  and  state,  $3,374.24; 
village,  $3,701.62;  school,  $3,422.62;  special  war  tax,  $510;  total 
$11,008.71.     This  does  not  include  tax  for  the  year  1901  which  under 


136  BUSINESS 

provisions  of  new  law  will  be  payable  to  the  county  treasurer  in  De- 
cember, 1901 .  The  taxes  on  bank  stock  prior  to  December,  1899  were 
paid  by  individual  holders  of  stock. 

The  bank  building  occupied  by  this  bank  was  purchased  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1891,  and  in  the  summer  of  same  year,  considerable  improve- 
ments were  made  to  the  same,  including  the  introduction  of  a  system 
of  heating  for  the  entire  premises  by  hot  water. 

On  January  19,  1899,  the  board  of  directors  instructed  its  duly  ap- 
pointed committee  to  purchase  a  new  safe  of  the  best  and  most  ap- 
proved modern  construction  and  to  make  contracts  for  extensive  im- 
provements in  the  banking  offices,  which  would  require  temporary  re- 
moval to  another  building.  By  courtesy  of  Mr.  John  Hyland  a  re- 
moval was  effected  in  March,  1899,  to  his  stone  building  on  Ossian 
street  adjoining  the  bank  property,  until  such  improvements  could  be 
completed  as  per  specifications  prepared  by  Messrs.  Bragdon  &  Hil- 
man  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.  The  cashier  in  the  meantime  contracted 
for  the  delivery  of  a  Corliss  safe  of  ample  capacity  weighing  seven 
and  one-half  tons  with  all  modern  equipment  to  secure  safety  of  de- 
posits against  all  species  of  invasion  or  accident  through  fire.  On  the 
4th  day  of  July,  1899,  the  reconstructed  bank  building  was  completed 
and  reoccupied  and  the  next  day  was  opened  for  business  to  the  pub- 
lic. The  Citizens  Bank  of  Dansville  is  now  in  possession  of  one  of 
the  most  modern,  convenient  and  substantial  banking  suites  of  offices 
that  can  be  found  in  any  country  town  in  the  state. 

The  report,  condensed,  to  the  superintendent  of  banks  for  the  state 
of  New  York,  of  the  condition  of  the  Citizen's  Bank  of  Dansville  at 
the  close  of  business  June  10,  1902,  is  as  follows: 

RESOURCES 

Loans  and   Discounts $165,097.87 

Bonds  and    Securities 13,754.58 

Due  from  Banks 78 ,356. 58 

Real  Estate 7 ,500. 00 

Furniture  and  Fixtures 4,000.00 

Cash 11, 072. 92 

$279,781.95 

LIABILITIES. 

Capital  Stock $  50,000.00 

Surplus  and  Profits 22,197.27 

Deposits 207, 584. 68 


$279,781.95 

The  splendid  showing  of  the  bank  as  manifested  in  the  above  tabu- 
lated report,  demonstrates  the  efficiency  of  its  management,  which 
has  justly  encouraged  the  confidence  and  substantial  support  that  it 
now  enjoys.  The  conservative  yet  sound,  and  when  essential,  liberal 
business  judgment  of  the  cashier,  Mr.  Frank  Fielder,  combined  with 
his  attractive  personality  causes  all  relations  with  the  institution  to 
abound  with  pleasure  as  well  as  profit. 


LOCAL  INDUSTRIES 


137 


William  Kramer  <fl  Son 

"Justice  to  All"  is  a  motto  the  strict  application  of  which  to  an  ex- 
tensive business,  soon  becomes  a  strong  test  of  the  personalities  of  the 
men  behind  the  enterprise. 

It  is  now  thirty  years  since  it  became  a  synonym  and  thus  perman- 
ently identified  with  the  name  of  Kramer  &  Bro.,  now  Kramer  & 
Son,  and  during  all  these  years  a  predominating  influence  for  fair 
dealing  has  upheld  this  early  adopted  resolution,  and  a  business  of  un- 
usual size  and  importance  has  proved  its  efficacy. 

Established  in  1872  by  Messrs.  William  and  Fritz  Kramer,  this  bus- 
iness was  continued  from  1886  to  1893  by  William  Kramer  singly,  who 
at  the  former  date  purchased  his  brother's  interest  and  during  the 
latter  year  admitted  his  son  Fred  as  a  partner  under  the  firm  name  of 
William  Kramer  &  Son. 


KRAMER   BLOCK 


In  1890,  Mr.  Kramer  built  the  substantial  and  handsome  structure 
on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Exchange  Streets  known  as  the  Kramer 
Block,  which  is  a  most  complete  and  modern  equipped  place  of  busi- 
ness. Large  show  windows,  extensive  iioor  space,  up-to-date  fixtures 
and  steam  heat  being  among  its  advantages. 

JUST  in  all  their  transactions.  JUST  in  quality,  quantity  com- 
pleteness and  price  of  ready-to-wear  clothing,  gents'  furnishings,  hats, 
caps,  neckwear  and  underwear.  "Justice"  is  also  assured  in  the 
custom  tailoring  department  in  charge  of  Karl  B.  Kramer,  a  practical 
and  fashionable  cutter  and  fitter. 

When  justice  is  meted  out  in  all  business  relations  and  pleasantness 
prevails  between  patron  and  salesman,  prosperity  is  assured. 


DENTISTS.i 


138  BUSINESS 

BurkHart  <5l  Gris^vold 

The  dental  office,  located  in  the 
Shepard  block  and  now  in  charge  of 
Dr.  Elmer  R.  Griswold  of  the  firm  of 
Burkhart  &  Griswold,  has  for  many 
years  been  a  well  known  landmark  for 
Dansville  and  vicinity.  Its  history 
antedates  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century  by  over  sixty  years  and  during  the  long  period  of  its 
existence,  it  has  been  in  charge  of  professional  men  of  exceptional  abil- 
ity. Probably  more  young  men  have  gone  forth  from  this  office  to 
win  success  in  their  chosen  profession  than  from  any  other  similarly 
situated  establishment  in  Western  New  York.  Dr.  H.  H.  Farley  es- 
tablished this  practice  in  Dansville  in  1838  and  it  has  been  carried  on 
uninterruptedly  down  to  the  present  day.  Only  one  dental  college 
was  then  in  existence,  being  located  at  Baltimore,  Md.  Dr.  Porter 
B.  Bristol,  a  man  of  marked  ability,  became  associated  with  Dr.  Far- 
ley in  the  early  40's.  Both  of  these  men  were  many  years  ahead  of 
their  time  in  dental  research  and  manipulative  skill,  their  reputation 
extending  for  many  miles  in  every  direction.  In  1855  owing  to  fail- 
ing health.  Dr.  Farley  retired. 

Dr.  Bristol  during  1858  engaged  Dr.  Alanson  Quigley  as  assistant 
and  in  1860  placed  him  In  charge  of  a  branch  office  in  the  Betts  block. 
In  1862  Dr.  G.  C.  Daboll  became  a  partner  with  Dr.  Bristol,  having 
entered  the  office  two  years  prior  to  that  time.  In  1864  Dr.  Bristol 
disposed  of  his  interest  in  this  office  to  Dr.  Quigley  and  until  1867  the 
firm  name  was  Quigley  &  Daboll.  Dr.  Daboll  disposed  of  his  share 
in  the  business  at  the  latter  date  to  his  partner,  removing  to  Buffalo, 
and  entering  into  partnership  with  Dr.  Snow,  who  at  that  time  was 
the  best  dentist  in  that  city.  In  1889  Dr.  Daboll  left  Buffalo  to  locate 
in  Paris,  France,  and  during  his  remarkably  successful  career  abroad 
has  been  an  honor  to  his  profession  and  a  patriotic  demonstrator  of 
the  high  standard  of  American  dentistry. 

Dr.  A.  P.  Burkhart  in  1873  was  engaged  by  Dr.  Quigley  as  as- 
sistant, becoming  proprietor  of  the  office  in  1875.  Dr.  Quigley  moved 
to  Auburn,  N.  Y. ,  this  same  year  and  succeeded  Dr.  Bristol,  who  for- 
merly resided  in  Dansville.  Dr.  Bristol  died  suddenly  in  1875.  Dr. 
Farley  after  leaving  this  village  entered  into  practice  in  Union  Springs, 
N.  Y.,  and  some  years  ago  lost  his  life  in  a  railroad  accident.  Dr. 
Quigley,  while  engaged  in  active  practice  in  Dansville  for  a  period  of 
seventeen  years,  by  his  uniform  kindness,  sterling  integrity  and  den- 
tal skill,  secured  and  held  the  confidence  of  all  who  came  under  his 
influence,  and  after  an  absence  of  over  twent5r-six  years  is  still  held  in 
high  esteem  by  many  of  the  older  villagers.  Dr.  Quigley  at  a  ripe 
old  age  is  still  practicing  at  Auburn,  N.  Y. ,  having  recently  admitted 
into  partnership  his  grandson,  Dr.  George  A.  Burkhart,  a  graduate  of 
the  University  of  Buffalo. 

Dr.  A.  P.  Burkhart  continued  in  active  practice  in  Dansville 
until  1897.  His  professional  skill,  business  ability  and  beneficent 
spirit  having  won  for  him  one  of  the  finest  country  practices 
in   the    Empire   state.     The   success  of  his  operations  soon  attracted 


LOCAL  INDUSriifES 


139 


the  managers  of  the  Jackson  Sanatorium,  who  entrusted  to  him 
all  patients  in  need  of  dental  services.  Dr.  Burkhart  has  been 
an  active  member  for  many  years  of  both  State  and  District  Dental 
societies.  His  name  frequently  appears  as  essayist  on  dental  topics 
and  as  a  contributor  to  the  leading  dental  journals.  He  was  several 
tmiep  elected  president  of  the  District  society  and  also  served  as  re- 
cording secretary.  Though  a  busy  man  in  his  practice,  he  was  always 
prominently  identified  with  any  movement  toward  the  betterment  of 
the  public  welfare  of  Dansville.  An  efficient  agitator  on  the  public 
school  question,  he  assisted  in  the  early  struggles  of  Dansville's  edu- 
cational institutions  and  was  unanimously  elected  the  first  treasurer 
of  the  school  board  after  its   organization.     He  was   also   secretary  of 


the  public  library  for  some  time.  In  Odd  Fellowship,  Masonry  and 
leading  fraternal  insurace  societies  he  was  an  important  factor  and 
energetic  worker.  In  many  of  these  organizations  he  occupied  posi- 
tions of  importance  and  honor. 

We  find  that  Dr.  Burkhart  had  as  students  while  in  Dansville: 
E.  C.  Clapp  of  Dansville,  now  practicing  successfully  at  Livonia, 
N.  Y. ;  Frank  Adams  of  Prattsburg,  N.  Y.,  now  a  leading  dentist 
in  the  state  of  Washington;  Charles  J.  Fraley,  who  is  now  proprietor 
of  a  lucrative  practice  in  Geneseo,  N.  Y. ;  and  his  brother,  H. 
J.  Burkhart  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  who  left  Dansville  to  enter  the 
Baltimore  Dental  College,  from  which  he  graduated  with  the 
highest  honors.  Dr.  H.  J.  Burkhart  has  won  renown  in  his  pro- 
fession throughout  both  state  and  nation,  having  served  three  terms 
as  president  of  the  New  York  State  Dental  Society  and  one  year  as 
president  of  the  National  Dental  Society,  the  latter  office    being   con- 


140 


BUSINESS 


ferred  upon  him  at  Omaha  in  1898.  He  is  also  one  of  the  State  Board 
of  Dental  Examiners  and  the  proprietor  of  a  substantial  practice  at 
Batavia,  N.  Y. ,  of  which  city  he  is  now  mayor. 

In  August,  1897,  Dr.  A.  P.  Burkhart  sold  his  practice  to  Dr.  F.G.  Be- 
dell and  removed  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  is  now  established.  Dr.  Be- 
dell after  enjoying  a  successful  year's  practice  in  Dansville  found  his 
health  failing  rapidly  and  was  obliged  to  relinquish  all  professional  cares ; 
so  that  in  the  fall  of  1898  Dr.  Burkhart,beingagain  possessed  of  the  office, 
placed  it  in  charge  of  an  assistant.  For  a  long  time  he  madebi-monthly 
visits  to  look  after  former  patients,  keeping  his  residence  in  Dansville 
to  which  village  he  still  swears  allegiance.  In  May,  1899,  Dr.  Charles 
J.  Fraley  was  admitted  into  partnership  by  Dr.  Burkhart  and  contin- 
ued in  Dansville  until  January  1,  1901,  when  he  removed  to  Geneseo, 
N.  Y. ,  where  he  is  now  practicing. 


Dr.  Elmer  R.  Griswold,  who  acquired  an  interest  in  the  office  January 
1,  1901,  took  an  active  part  in  the  Spanish-American  war,  serving  as 
corporal  in  the  202d  N.  Y.  V.  T.,  and  with  his  regiment  saw  considerable 
service  in  Cuba.  At  the  time  of  his  enlistment  in  the  army  he  was 
actively  engaged  as  an  assistant  with  Dr.  H.  J.  Burkhart  at  Batavia. 
After  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  be- 
came assistant  to  Dr.  A.  P.  Burkhart  of  Buffalo,  his  present  partner. 
Dr.  Griswold  possesses  the  esteem  of  his  partner,  who,  recognizing  in 
him  abilities  far  above  the  ordinary  practitioner,  placed  the  office 
which  for  the  greater  part  of  a  century  has  borne  an  uninterrupted 
reputation  for  the  best  in  dentistry,  unreservedly  in  his  charge. 
Though  a  resident  of  Dansville  for  less  than  two  years,  Dr.  Griswold 
has  won  many  friends  and  patients  who  are  confident  that  the  reputa- 
tion left  by  his  predecessors  will  be  ably  maintained  both  ethically 
and  professionally. 


LOCAL  INDUSTRIES  141 

J.  H.  Baker 

As  the  memory  of  what  we  are  and 
do  will  live  in  the  future,  we  should 
make  wise  provision,  that  comforts 
and  pleasures  may  be  assured  those 
to  whom  our  lives  have  been  devoted, 
when  our  terrestrial  existence  has 
ceased.  In  times  of  plenty  all  may 
prepare  for  the  unproductive  seasons 
in  life  which  are  pretty  sure  to  come, 
by  laying  aside  part  of  their  surplus. 
This  should  be  done  with  persist- 
ence and  regularity.  That  it  may 
be  done,  and  be  secure  against  all  un- 
forseen  possibilities,  a  grand  system 
of  protection  has  been  instituted 
that  enables  us  to  live  in  peaceful 
JAMES  H.  BAKER  Contemplation  of  the  years  to  come. 

Insurance  is  a  power  which  permits  every  man  to  secure  his  possessions, 
and  make  the  most  of  his  opportunities.  Without  it  enterprise  and  all 
business  would  be  hazardous,  progress  would  be  impossible,  and  life 
itself  would  be  a  failure.  It  is  the  clearing  house  of  the  world's  in- 
dustries. The  study  of  insurance  has  become  a  science  of 
marvelous  and  unlimited  power  and  perhaps  no  one  is  better 
able  to  acquaint  the  layman  with  its  technology  than  James 
H.  Baker,  who  for  nine  years  has  been  writing  fire,  life, 
accident  and  health  insurance  in  the  Maxwell  block.  Established 
at  the  present  location  May  1,  1S<)3,  each  year  has  seen  an  appreciable 
gain  in  the  amount  of  insurance  written.  $28S,(l(J0  of  insurance  was 
written  the  first  year,  and  $54'*,49U  during  the  last  fiscal  year.  A 
general  office,  real  estate,  loan  and  pension  business  is  also  conducted. 
The  companies  now  represented  by  Mr.  Baker  are:  Glens  Falls  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  Fire  Association, Hartford  Fire, New  York  Under- 
writers' Agency,  Reading  Fire,  Philadelphia  Underwriters,  Norwich 
Union,  Commercial  Union,  Lloyd's  Plate  Glass,  Provident  Life  and 
Trust  Company,  Aetna  Life,  Accident  and  Health  Insurance  Company. 
A  personal  sketch  of  Mr.  Baker  will  be  found  among  the  biographies 
of  Dansville's  leading  citizens. 


142 


BUSINESS 


£.  N.  Bastian 

One  of  the  oldest  and  largest 
drug  houses  in  Western  New  York 
and  the  one  carrying  the  most 
complete  stock  in  Livingston 
County,  is  presided  over  by  E.  N. 
Bastian  at  186  Main  street.  Es- 
tablished in  1834  by  Edward 
Niles,  the  business  was  successful- 
ly conducted  by  him  until  his 
death  in  1865  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  C.  E.  Niles.  In 
1870  Gottlieb  Bastian  purchased 
the  good  will  and  stock  of  the 
firm  and  by  making  extensive 
improvements  and  consistent  ad- 
ditions, the  business  was  soon 
brought  to  the  high  standard 
which  has  distinguished  it  ever 
since.  The  year  1854  witnessed 
a  great  fire  in  Dansville,  several 
business  blocks  being  entirely 
wiped  out  and  among  others  who 
lost  heavily  was  Edward  Niles  who  saw  his  store  completely  destroyed. 
Nothing  daunted,  however,  he  located  in  the  S.  W.  Smith  block  until 
the  Shepard  block  was  rebuilt  when  he  moved  back  to  his  original 
location.     While  the  business  was  originally  started  in  the  Cook  Block, 


E.  N.  BASTIAN 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  BASTIAN'S  DRUG  HOUSE 


LOCAL  LNDUSTRILS  143 

upper  Main  street,  it  remained  there  but  a  short  time,  so  that  lower 
Main  street  for  three  score  of  years  has  claimed  the  honor  of  its  as- 
sociation. Almost  as  far  back  as  the  memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant,' 
this  widely  known  drug  house  has  stood  buffeted  by  village  booms 
and  depressions,  passing  through  wars  and  financial  panics;  yet  ap- 
parently undisturbed,  it  has  continued  steadily  to  advance.  Each 
new  proprietor  has  striven  to  uphold  the  excellent  reputation  left  him 
by  his  predecessor,  and  in  no  instance  has  this  been  more  successfully 
accomplished  than  by  the  pi-esent  owner,  Mr.  E.  N.  Bastian,  who  suc- 
ceeded his  father  Gottlieb  Bastian  in  1900.  Thoroughly  equipped  by 
practical  experience  through  many  years  of  previous  association  with 
same  business,  Mr.  Bastian  has  more  than  maintained  the  enviable 
standing  of  the  establishment,  which  extends  not  only  throughout 
Livingston  but  many  adjoining  counties.  Nearly  all  of  the  U.  S. 
Pharmaceutical  requirements  are  kept  constantly  in  stock  as  well  as 
an  extensive  line  of  drugs,  chemicals,  paints,  oils,  varnishes,  patent 
medicines,  toilet  accessories  and  the  well-known  preparations,  G. 
Bastian's  Favorite  Remedies. 

Comprehending  readily,  the  requirements  of  an  extensive  business, 
Mr.  Bastian  has  foreseen  the  needs  and  desires  of  the  people  and  by 
an  unswerving  devotion  to  their  best  interests,  has  justly  earned  the 
wide  reputation  his  establishment  enjoys  and  the  confidence  which 
his  name  inspires. 


^i?    v{? 


Willistms  cfl  Co. 

In  the  southwest  part  of  the  village  at  an  advantageous  site  on  Mill 
Creek  where  abundance  of  natural  water  power  is  available  from  a 
twenty-nine-foot  fall,  was  founded  in  1830,  the  large  grain  and  mill- 
ing establishment  which  has  ever  since  identified  this  location.  Dr. 
James  Faulkner  was  the  founder  of  this  early  establishment  and  Elihu 
Stanley,  who  still  resides  in  Dansville  at  a  ripe  old  age,  was  its  first 
operator.  In  1840  John  C.  Williams  became  proprietor  and  later 
took  into  partnership  his  son  James,  the  business  being  conducted  for 
many  years  under  the  firm  of  J.  C.  Williams  &  Son.  The  present 
firm  name  of  Williams  &  Co.,  has  been  in  force  since  1887  when  the 
old  mill  which  had  become  a  land  mark  of  this  village  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  large  structure  which  now  stands  on  this  historic  spot 
was  built  the  same  year  and  contains  every  facility  for  the  successful 
conduct  of  the  large  business  that  has  always  identified  this  establish- 
ment. For  many  years,  flour  was  shipped  to  New  York  and  other 
cities  by  the  canal  which  ran  back  of  the  old  mill.  In  those  pioneer 
days,  an  extensive  malting  business  was  conducted,  and  a  large  plas- 
ter-mill was  operated.  When  the  canal  was  the  principal  means  of 
transportation,  that  part  of  the  village  was  where  all  important  bus- 
iness centered,  and  during  those  exciting  times,  James  Murdock,  one 
of  the  village  pioneers,  lately  deceased,  was  a  valued  employe.  One 
of  the  first  and  most   important  of  Dansville's  early   establishments. 


144 


BUSINESS 


this  business  has  continued  steadily  to  improve  under  efficient 
management  and  has  proved  an  important  factor  in  the  commercial 
growth  and  subsequent  prosperity  of  the  village.  Under  the  careful 
guidance  of  its  present  superintendent,  its  solidity  and  steady  growth 
are  being  ably  maintained. 

Charles  W.  Denton  became  manager  and  superintendent,  May  10, 
1897,  after  the  death  of  J.  C.  Williams,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  will 
be  found  among  the  biographies.  Mr.  Denton  had  then  been  identified 
with  the  institution  for  only  two  years  but  during  that  time  had 
made  his  services  important  to  the  success  of  the  business.  Like  his 
predecessors  in  authority,  Mr.  Denton  possesses  the  confidence  of  the 
farmers  and  of  the  trade,  while  the, products  of  the  mill  are  constantly 
increasing  in  favor  both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  mill  is  operated 
by  Roller  process  for  flour  and  buckwheat,  and  stones  for  graham  and 
feed.  Seventy-five  barrels  a  day  is  the  capacity  of  the  mill.  "Wheat- 
tan-do-Cereal,"  entire-wheat  flour  and  gluten-flour  are  some  of  the 
specialties  manufactured.  William  Fontaine  is  head  miller,  William 
McCormick  assistant  miller  and  Fred  Price  distributing  agent. 


LOCAL  INDVSTRIliS 


145 


THe  George    ^V.  PecK  Co. 

To  sec  a  man  enter  upon  a  business  career  in  a  modest  way  and  day 
by  day  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  his  enterprise,  overcome  all  obstacles, 
outdistance  competitors  and  in  a  few  years  establish  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  class,  becomes  truly  an  inspiration.  Mr.  George  W.  Peck, 
though  not  a  native  or  even  resident  of  Dansville,  has  so  thoniughly 
impressed  his  individuality  upon  the  community  that  in  spirit  if  not 
in  person  his  association  with  the  best  interests'of  this  village  has  be- 
come of  permanent  importance  and  increasing  value.  Commencing 
on  a  small  scale  at  Savona,  N.  Y.,  Mr.  Peek  started  out  in  1875  to 
solve  the  problem  of  successfully  conducting  a  hardware  store. 


INTERIOR  GEO.  W.  PECK   CO.   STORE 


Though  the  sales  during  the  first  year  amounted  to  over  $4,000, 
and  steadily  increased  each  succeeding  year,  the  promoter  of  the  enter- 
prise soon  found  his  business  overreaching  his  ability  to  take  care  of 
it  with  a  single  establishment,  and  found  it  advisable  in  1881  to  open 
a  branch  at  Prattsburg,  N.  Y.  His  well  deserved  reputation  preced- 
ing him  into  new  communities,  has  caused  the  rapid  installation  of 
new  branches  at  advantageous  locations,  to  be  fraught  with  no  ele- 
ment of  uncertainty  as  to  ultimate  prosperity.  In  1883  his  sign  was 
hung  in  Pultney,  N.  Y.,  in  1886  at  Cohocton.  In  1888  a  fine  open- 
ing was  taken  advantage  of  by  this  firm  at  Bath,  N.  Y.,  followed  in 
1893  by  the  sending  of  a  representative  to  the  neighboring  village  of 
Bradford.  The  next  extension  was  made  in  the  city  of  Hornellsville 
in  1889  and  in  1900  the  G.  W.  P's  began  to  appear  in  and  about  Dans- 
ville, acquainting  all  who  read  that  goods  are  sold  to  the  consumer 
at  dealers'  prices.     The  Altmeyer  block   from  March  1,  l')oo  to  Janu- 


LOCAL  LNDUSTRIES  147 

ary  1,  l')i)2,  became  the  repository  of  the  (k'orge  W.  Peck  Co.  for 
harness,  waijons  and  implements  while  the  local  headciuartcrs  were 
at  the  large  store  in  the  Bastian  block,  formerly  occupied  by  Schwingel 
&  Carney,  successors  to  E.  C.  Schwingel  who  was  preceded  by  F.  C. 
Walker,  Opening  at  the  latter  location  May  1,  I'XJl,  a  thriving  busi- 
ness was  enjoyed  until  July  27  of  the  same  year  when  the  first  fire  in 
the  history  of  the  Peck  Company  and  one  of  the  severest  ever  experi- 
enced in  Dansville,  devastated  the  entire  block.  Before  the  ruins 
were  cold  large  placards  announced  a  fire  sale,  at  which  what  little  re- 
mained of  a  fl3,()l)il  stock  was  disposed  of  for  a  song.  Insurance  was 
carried  that  scarcely  covered  half  the  value  of  the  stock,  so  that  the 
loss  including  that  forfeited  by  the  inability  to  take  care  of  the  regu- 
lar trade  exceeded  $7,000.  A  temporary  location  in  the  Hedges  block 
preceded  their  entrance  into  the  new  Scovill  block,  the  greater 
part  of  which  was  then  being  fitted  up  for  their  occupancy.  The  il- 
lustration can  give  but  a  partial  idea  of  the  beauty  of  design  and 
tempting  arrangement  of  the  enormous  stock  of  goods  displayed  to 
advantage  in  this  most  modern  equipped  and  commodious  emporium. 
Row  upon  row  and  tier  after  tier  of  shelves  and  drawers  stretch  from 
floor  to  ceiling  and  from  end  to  end,  full  of  everything  that  is  needed 
in  the  hardware  line.  The  2,500  feet  of  floor  space  in  the  store  alone, 
gives  ample  room  for  the  display  of  stoves  and  smaller  implements  in 
various  grades  and  styles,  while  the  large  pressed  steel-covered  repos- 
itory, two  stories  high  and  having  nearly  S.UOO  square  feet  of  floor 
space  gives  a  storage  capacity  that  permits  of  a  large  assortment  of 
carriages,  implements,  wagons  and   general   hardware  being  carried. 

The  Dansville  branch  is  managed  by  George  J.  Dodson.  John  F. 
Hubertus,  an  efficient  salesman,  takes  care  of  the  hardware  depart- 
ment. The  plumbers  and  tinsmiths,  who  are  skilled  craftsmen,  are 
under  the  supervision  of  John  Berman.  The  C5eorge  W.  Peck  Com- 
pany is  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  New  York  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $100,000,  with  the  following  officers:  George  W.  Peck, 
president,  Bath,  N.  Y. ;  Fred  Plaisted,  vice  president,  Penn  Yan,  N. 
Y. ;  Ira  C.  Pratt,  secretary,  Prattsburg,  N.  Y. ;  Frank  B.  Peck, 
treasurer,  Cohocton,  N.  Y.,  A  large  wholesale  and  retail  business  is 
conducted  with  the  aid  of  seven  stores  in  different  localities,  a  large 
harness  factory  at  Bath,  also  a  New  York  office.  With  these  advan- 
tages, cempetition  is  minimized  and  the  public  purse  is  benefited 
thereby.  A  new  store  has  just  been  opened  at  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y. ,  in- 
suring the  company  that  their  record  of  $220,675.80  in  sales  during 
1901  will  be  eclipsed  in  1902  to  the  handsome  sum  of  over  $300,(100.00. 
A  record  like  the  above  is  its  own    criterion    of   continued  prosperity. 

George  J.  Dodson,  who  has  lately  become  a  stockholder  in  the 
George  W.  Peck  Company,  assumed  control  of  the  Dansville  branch 
January  1,  1902.  With  an  enviable  record  of  sixteen  years'  continuous 
success  in  the  same  line  of  business  at  Watkins,  Ithaca,  Niagara  Falls 
and  Geneva,  Mr.  Dodson  is  well  prepared  for  his  present  important 
post.  His  modern  ideas  and  aggressive  business  methods  combined 
with  a  confidence-winning  friendliness,  have  already  enthused  new 
life  into  the  establishment  and  assure  a  future  of  we'll  merited  pros- 
perity. 


148 


BUSINESS 


TKe  Dansville  Book  Store 

The  second  tenant  of  the  Maxwell  block  and  the  first  in  his  present 
location,  Mr.  H.  W.  DeLong,  on  September  10,  1875,  established  the 
Dansville  Book  Store  which  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  has 
been  to  this  community  the  basis  of  all  necessary  supplies  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  mind,  the  recording  of  business  and  the  perfection 
of  the  artistic  temperament.  In  spite  of  the  fears  of  old  citizens  who 
considered  this  venture  extremely  hazardous,  Mr.  DeLong  by  his  per- 
sistence and  close   attention    to  detail,  rapidly  increased  the  size  and 


SECTIONAL  VIEW  H.  W.  DeLONG'S   BOOKSTORE 


scope  of  his  business,  until  for  a  radius  of  many  miles,  his  school  and 
other  supplies  have  become  recognized  as  standard  in  all  school  dis- 
tricts. Books  of  all  kinds  at  all  prices,  rapidly  change  on  the  well- 
filled  shelves;  for  new  ones  as  fast  as  published,  supplant  the  pur- 
chased copies.  Stationery  and  fancy  goods,  school  and  office  supplies 
are  here  in  abundant  profusion  and  varied  assortment,  and  sporting 
goods  to  delight  the  younger  generation.  In  1885  Mr.  DeLong  be- 
came the  local  manager  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  and  on  the 
completion  of  the  Lackawanna  Railroad  his  place  of  business  became 


LOCAL  INDUSTRIES  14V 

the  down-town  office  of  this  line,  and  at  the  same  time  an  agency  for 
the  United  States  Express  Co.,  all  of  which  except  the  Telephone  re- 
main at  the  same  location,  164  Main  St.  Mr.  Thomas  Ale.xander  and 
Miss  Louise  Fisk  are  the  present  assistants  at  the  down-town  store, 
and  Miss  Kittie  Swartz  is  in  charge  of  Mr.  DeLong's  Sanatorium 
branch  which  has  been  in  successful  operation  at  that  institution  for 
nearly  ten  years.  Mr.  Herman  DeLong  Jr.,  is  the  present  local 
manager  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Co.  The  success  of  this  establishment, 
is  not  a  chance  occurrence,  but  the  result  of  many  years  of  persistent 
effort  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  public  and  warrant  their  patronage 
by  assuring  their  satisfaction.  Its  steady  development  and  present 
substantial  size,  demonstrate  the  wisdom  of  this  policy. 


^    ^ 


FetisterxnacHer  BrotKers 

In  a  little  old  tavern  in  Pennsylvania  was  recently  celebrated  the 
centennial  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  the  famous  coal  regions  of 
that  State.  A  handful  of  "blackdirt,"  thrown  carelessly  into  a  blaz- 
ing fire-place  a  hundred  years  ago,  suddenly  burst  into  a  flame  that 
ever  since  has  warmed  and  lighted  the  greater  part  of  the  civilized 
world,  and  kept  in  motion  the  wheels  of  industry.  Fenstermacher 
Brothers  who  have,  since  1895,  been  well  known  dealers  in  this  com- 
modity, during  the  past  year  disposed  of  1,600  tons  against  350  tons 
in  their  first  year,  this  remarkable  increase  being  due  to  carefulness  in 
the  conduct  of  the  business  and  the  general  satisfaction  of  all  patrons. 
The  present  proprietors,  Clarence  W. ,  and  Frank  Fenstermacher,  suc- 
ceeded in  1895,  F.  H.  McCartney,  who  established  himself  in  the 
business  in  1893.  The  coal  sheds,  office  and  scales  are  opposite  the 
D.  &  M.  R.  R.  Depot  on  Milton  St.,  a  most  convenient  and  easily 
accessible  location.  The  substantial  showing  of  this  business  and  the 
progressiveness  of  the  proprietors  assure  its  continued  success. 


150 


BUSINESS 


Dr.  J.  F.  McPHee 


A  native  of  Arnprior, 
Canada,  Dr.  McPhee  ac- 
quired his  early  education 
in  the  public  and  high 
schools  of  that  place.  After 
successfully  completing 
courses  at  Prof.  Cronley's 
Business  College,  and  Up- 
per Canada  College,  both  of 
Toronto,  he  entered  the 
dental  office  of  his  uncle 
Dr.  D.  McPhee.  After  a 
year's  practical  experience 
under  efficient  demonstra- 
tions, he  entered  the  Phila- 
delphia Dental  College,  be- 
ing the  youngest  student  at 
that  time  in  the  institution.  On  May  23,  1893,  he  became  associated 
with  Dr.  L.  T.  Sheffield  who  enjoyed  the  enviable  reputation  of  be- 
ing the  best  crown  and  bridge  specialist  in  New  York  City,  if  not  in 
the  country.  After  a  year  with  Dr.  Sheffield,  being  ambitious  to 
perfect  himself  in  his  chosen  profession,  he  returned  to  Canada  and 
securing  an  outfit  of  dental  instruments,  discarded  by  his  uncle,  sup- 
plemented by  a  few  of  his  own,  some  of  which  will  be  cherished  as 
souvenirs  of  a  hard  earned  education,  he  set  out  to  practice   intermit- 


RECEPTION   ROOM.   DR.    McPHEE 


OPERATING    ROOM,   DR,   McPHEE 


L  OCA  L  IXD  US  TRIES  151 

tently  in  over  a  hundred  towns  and  hamlets  unsupplied  with  dentists. 
Remaining  from  a  week  to  two  weeks  in  each  town  along  the  line  of 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad,  he  found  abundant  opportunity  for 
using  his  professional  skill  among  people  of  all  classes  and  nation- 
alities. Perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  his  patients  in  the  varied 
phases  of  their  peculiar  natures,  were  the  half-breed  Indians  of  the 
Northwest  Reservation  who  readily  exchanged  valuable  furs  for  a 
glittering  array  of  gold  in  their  front  teeth.  The  Doctor  enjoyed  what 
few  white  faces  have  seen;  i.  e.,  the  mystic  religious  ceremony  in- 
dulged in  by  the  Indians  of  that  region,  called  "Chasing  the  Devil." 
In  1896  he  entered  the  University  of  Buffalo,  Dental  Department,  and 
was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.  S.  in  1897.  After  a  few 
months  at  Youngsville,  Pa.,  where  he  opened  an  office,  he  removed 
to  Dansville  establishing  his  present  practice  with  offices  in  the 
Kramer  Block,  Oct.  23,  1897.  The  Doctor,  in  the  few  years  he 
has  resided  in  this  village,  has  made  many  friends,  and  a  lucrative 
practice  has  necessarily  resulted  from  the  success  of  his  first  opera- 
tions. A  member  of  the  seventh  district  Dental  Society  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  the  Barratonian  Society  of  the  University  of  Buffalo, 
and  the  Alumni  Association  of  the  same  institution,  the  doctor  oc- 
cupies a  prominent  position  among  the  men  of  his  profession.  Dr. 
McPhee  is  also  the  proud  possessor  of  naturalization  papers  which  en- 
title him  to  citizenship  in  the  United  States. 

With  the  assistance  of  the  best  mechanical  aids,  his  acquired  skill 
and  inherent  adaptability,  Dr.  McPhee  is  well  prepared  to  perform 
any  and  all  operations  requiring  the  services  of  a  D.  D.  S.  His  suc- 
cess is  well  deserved  and  its  continuance  well  assured. 

A.  S.  WelcH 

On  the  grocery  trade  the  whole  civilized  race  depends  for  daily  sup- 
plies, and  as  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  reliable  houses  engaged 
in  this  line  here,  we  mention  that  of  Mr.  A.  S.  Welch.  It  is  located 
at  125  Main  Street,  and  the  stock  embraces  a  full  line  of  the  purest 
and  best  the  market  affords  in  staple  and  fancy  groceries,  canned 
goods,  coffees,  provisions  and  vegetables.  The  store  room  is  well  ar- 
ranged, and  every  convenience  is  at  hand  for  the  accommodation  of 
patrons,  while  straightforward  business  methods  have  drawn  to  this 
house  a  large  and  lucrative  trade.  Mr.  Welch  is  a  good  judge  of  the 
values  of  merchandise,  and  is  always  at  the  store  to  attend  to  the 
wants  of  patrons,  and  in  the  years  that  he  has  been  in  business  as 
above,  he  has  met  with  most  gratifying  success. 


152 


BUSINESS 


>Villiam  VeitK 

The  molding  of  the  weed  into  the  shapely  form  of  a  cigar,  the 
aroma  of  which  is  the  surcease  of  many  a  supposed  ill,  is  an  art  that 
needs  no  eulogy.  Those  who  become  skilled  in  this  craft  are  public 
benefactors. 

William  Veith,  a  native  born  German,  learned  his  trade  in  Baden, 
Germany.  Coming  to  this  country  in  1855,  he  first  located  in  Corn- 
ing, N.  Y.,  removing  to  Dansville  in  1860.  For  a  year  his  place  of 
business  was  that  now  occupied  by  W.  H.  Rowan  and  from  '61  to  '63 
at  the  present  location  of  John  Foley.  Since  the  latter  date,  his  bus- 
iness has  been  a  permanent  fixture  at  209  Main  street.  During  these 
forty   years  of  uninterrupted  prosperity  the  busiriess  has  steadily  in- 


INTERIOR  VIEW,  WILLIAM  VEITH'S   CIGAR   STORE 


increased  in  size  and  importance.  A  large  wholesale  and  retail  trade 
is  now  carried  on,  a  large  assortment  of  choice  tobaccos  and  smokers' 
supplies  being  included  with  his  own  creations.  The  most  noted  of 
the  many  brands  of  cigars  manufactured  at  this  establishment  are  the: 
Resolution,  Irene,  Charles  Ideals,  Humps,  Deweys,  Infants,  Meteors, 
Invincibles  and  C.  R.  &  B.  A's.  The  cigar  makers  now  employed 
are  Joseph  A.  Wirth,  William  F.  Veith  and  Charles  Simons,  who  are 
all  skilled  craftsmen. 

Mr.  Veith  owns  the  business  block  in  which  his  store  is  located  and 
in  many  other  ways  is  giving  evidence  of  the  competence  that  has 
justly  come  to  him  through  his  perseverance  and  strict  integrity  in 
all  business  relations. 


LOCAL  INDUSTRIES 


153 


TKe  Hall  Manufacturing  Company 

On  upper  Main  street  near  the  corporation  limit  is  located  the  fac- 
tory of  the  Hall  Manufacturing  Co.,  established  in  1893  by  H.  B. 
Hall.  Mr.  William  C.  Squires,  an  architect,  builder  and  contractor 
of  several  years'  successful  experience,  became  associated  with  Mr. 
Hall  as  a  partner  in  1900.  This  manufacturing  establishment  was 
built  up  about  the  old  Klauck  tannery,  which  made  use  of  the  natural 
water  power  from  a  twelve-foot  fall  in  Mill  Creek  as  early  as  1865.  This 
progressive  firm  deals  in  all  kinds  of  sash,  doors,  blinds,  moldings, 
etc.,    and  makes  a  specialty  of  plate-racks  and  jardiniere  stands,  as 


^■Z'-'^_..-T^_  f.  'i-^^'-^-i^^. 


'^m 


FACTORY.  HALL   MANUFACTURING   CO. 


well  as  flooring  and  ceiling;  estimates,  on  application,  being  furnished 
on  all  kinds  of  wood-work.  The  machinery  and  other  appliances  used 
are  of  the  latest  patterns  and  most  approved  makes,  permitting  of  all 
work  turned  out  being  first  class  in  every  particular.  The  handsome 
Scoville  Block,  illustrated  in  another  part  of  this  work,  was  built  by 
the  Hall  Manufacturing  Co.,  and  constitutes  one  of  the  most  substan- 
tial and  modern  equipped  business  blocks  to  be  found  in  any  village. 
Both  Mr.  Hall  and  Mr.  Squires,  as  progressive  business  men  with 
up-to-date  ideas  and  aggressive  methods,  are  rapidly  increasing  their 
trade  both  in  volume  and  extent  of  territory  covered. 


LOCAL  INDUS TRJIiS 


155 


JoKant^en  BrotHers 

In  the  spring  of  1856,  under  the  firm  name  of  Foster  &  Puffer,  the 
business  now  being  conducted  by  Johantgen  Bros.,  was  established. 
Beginning  as  clerk,  Sept.  1,  1859,  Nicholas  Johantgen,  in  1873,  be- 
came the  partner  of  J.  F.  Brayton  who  had  succeeded  the  original 
firm  during  1861.  In  1877  Mr.  Johantgen  purchased  his  partner's 
interest  and  became  sole  proprietor  of  the  establishment,  remaining 
as  such  until  1898  when  he  was  succeeded  bv  his  sons,  Charles  G., 
Frank  H.,  Fred  W.,  and  Nicholas,  Jr.,  who  are  the  present  owners. 
A  large  wholesale  and  retail  business  is  conducted  both  local  and 
general  in  its  extent,  increasing  in  volume  each  succeeding  year. 
The  stock  of  ready-to-wear  clothing  and   gents'  furnishings  is  most 


INTERIOR  VIEW,  JOHANTGEN    BROS. 


complete.  With  the  latest  styles,  the  finest  fabrics,  the  best  of  make, 
the  most  courteous  salesmen,  few  customers  turn  away  with  wants 
unfilled.  A  large  branch  store  is  conducted  at  Perry,  N.  Y.,  and  is  in 
charge  of  Charles  G.,  and  Fred  W.  Johantgen.  The  firm  is  also 
manufacturers  of  superior  grades  of  workingmen's  apparel.  Under  the 
efficient  tutelage  of  Nicholas  Sr.,  Johantgen  Bros.,  have  become  care- 
ful buyers  and  ready  salesmen,  encouraging  confidence  and  winning 
friendship. 

The  interesting  record  of  their  establishment  is  one  of  which  they 
may  justly  be  proud  and  that  it  will  be  maintained  without  blemish, 
none  who  have  closely  investigated,  will  gainsay. 


156 


BUSINESS 


A.  H.  Plimpton 

In  the  old  structure  that  formerly  occupied  the  lot  where  the  hand- 
some Rouse  Block  now  stands,  Mr.  A.  H.  Plimpton  on  April  1,  1893, 
became  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Dansville.  Coming 
from  the  neighboring  city  of  Hornellsville,  well  equipped  to  satisfy  a 
critical  public,  Mr.  Plimpton  in  a  short  time  became  firmly  estab- 
lished in  a  rapidly  growing  jewelry  business.  In  1894  a  change  of 
location  was  made  to  165  Main  Street  where  the  stock  was  partially 
destroyed  by  fire  necessitating  a  temporary  removal  to  132  Main 
street.     The  present  location   in  the  Rouse  Block  at  151  Main  street 


INTEMOB.  VIEW,  A.   H.   PLIMPTON'S   JEWELRY   STORE 

was  taken  April  1,  1901.  A  full  line  of  everything  likely  to  please  the 
fastidious  tastes  of  all  who  take  delight  in  the  purchase  of  gold,  silver 
and  precious  stones,  is  artistically  displayed  in  a  large  well  lighted 
and  handsomely  furnished  store.  Mr.  Plimpton  has  made  a  specialty 
for  a  number  of  years  of  expert  diamond  setting,  watch  repairing  and 
the  improving  of  weak  vision  by  the  fitting  of  glasses.  Mr.  William 
Hubbard,  his  present  assistant,  has  exhibited  unusual  adaptability  for 
his  chosen  craft. 

Mr.  Plimpton  possesses  many  admirable  qualities  as  a  business  man 
and  citizen.     His  success  is  of  his  own  making. 


LOCAL  JXnC'STR/JiS 


157 


Kramer  <fl  tSttirm 

The  handling  of  groceries  and  cognate  goods  is  one  of  the  most 
important  branches  of  trade  carried  on  in  any  village.  Conspicuous 
among  the  many  establishments  of  this  kind  in  Dansville  and  one 
that  is  steadily  growing  in  popularity,  is  the  one  mentioned  above. 
No  better  evidence  of  the  re